Men In Uniform
by kjwrit
Summary: And by "Men", I mean Eric. This will be a series of one shots where Eric gets dressed up in a different yummy uniform that Sookie gets to take off of him. AH/AU Summer is the season for lemonade! Rated M for a reason!
1. Late

**A/N: In this chapter we'll be dressing Eric up as a New Jersey State Trooper. You can probably find them on google images, but let me tell you…in person? .HOT! If NJ car insurance wasn't so freakin' high to begin with I would speed EVERYWHERE!**

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns them. I'm just playing with Eric's night stick!**

LATE

**SPOV**

I couldn't believe how late it was. I should've been home an hour ago. Jumping into my car I started to make my way home. I had wanted to make a special dinner tonight and it should have already been in the oven by now.

Living out in the Pinelands meant you had to drive farther away for everything. Doctors, grocery stores, WalMart, everything. It also meant that once you got onto the highways that ran through the Pine Barrens, there was hardly ever any traffic.

I turned onto Route 563 east and floored it. It was fall so the sun had set earlier and the sky was dark. There weren't any streetlamps along this stretch of the road so I made sure my high beams were on.

I was only a few miles from home when I saw the flashing red lights in my rearview mirror. I pulled over to the side of the road and rolled my window down. I heard the patrol car door open and shut and watched a large shadow of a man walking towards my door.

As I turned to face him my eyes drank in what was before me. His blue blazer stretched over his broad chest with four black buttons secured down the middle. Each lapel held the gold triangular NJ State Trooper logo as did each sleeve at his shoulders with his rank insignia over each bicep. A black whistle hung from his left front breast pocket and a gold plated bar above his right breast pocket was engraved with his name. _Northman. _

His black pants had a gold band running the length of his outer legs and a wide black leather belt held a holstered gun on his right hip and extra ammunition on his left secured at his waist over his blazer. A black leather strap attached to his belt in front of his holster ran diagonally across his chest and over his left shoulder. His chambray blue shirt collar peaked out from underneath his blazer with a black tie knotted at his throat.

His face was clean shaven, his features perfect. I could see his blond hair peeking out from underneath his blue hat with black bill. His blue eyes were hooded as he watched my gaze travel over his body. My God. He was simply stunning.

"Exit the vehicle," he commanded.

I did.

Standing before him he gripped my right elbow and turned me to face my car, placing my hands on the roof.

"Don't move."

I didn't.

His hands gripped my waist as he pulled my lower half away from the car, spreading my legs with his. He pressed his body against my back as his hands snaked around my waist and under my shirt, caressing each breast over my bra.

I couldn't suppress the moan that escaped my lips when he pushed my bra up and over my breasts so his fingers could trace each hardened nipple, pinching and pulling them in unison.

As his hands trailed down my abdomen I wantonly pushed my hips into his straining erection, sliding up and down its length.

I felt his hot breath on my neck before his tongue blazed a trail from my shoulder to my ear, flicking inside of it causing a shiver to run down my spine. His left hand held my hip firmly against his body as his right hand delved into the front of my skirt, dipping into my panties. He growled when he discovered I was dripping wet for him.

He ripped his hand out of my skirt, turned my body to face his and wrapped his arms around me lifting me up. He cupped my ass in his hands as my legs wrapped around his waist and he slanted his mouth over mine. I grabbed both sides of his face holding his lips to mine tracing his lips and teeth with my tongue. As I sucked his lower lip between my teeth I bit down slightly while grinding my hips against his, desperate for more friction.

He carried me to the front of his patrol car where he set me down on the hood. He finally broke the kiss, pushing my shirt up higher and devouring each breast with his mouth. His hands trailed up my legs, taking the hem of my skirt higher and higher as his mouth moved lower and lower until the two finally met over my center.

He gently kissed me there through the fabric of my panties before hooking his fingers on each side and pulling with enough force they ripped from my body. His tongue dove into my core where he lapped up the moisture that had pooled there. I reached down, taking his hat off as I gripped his head pulling him further into me. Moving his tongue further up he sucked my clit into his mouth flicking it rhythmically with his tongue as his fingers reached into me.

My hips bucked up involuntarily when he hit 'the spot'. I couldn't help but to hold onto his head tighter and grinding myself into his face as a came screaming.

His fingers left my body as his mouth continued to suckle my nub. I could feel my climax building again when he pulled my hips closer to his body and plunged his rock hard length into me all the way to the hilt in one thrust. Wrapping my legs around him I screamed out matching him thrust for thrust. I looked up into his eyes and saw they were dilated with lust, the only light coming from the red flashing lights of his patrol car casting odd shadows across our bodies.

I could feel him swell inside of me even more signaling his impending release as his hands wandered up my body to my breasts. His mouth followed his hands and he sucked my nipples into his mouth once more. As he leaned forward he seemed to reach even deeper inside of me and I climaxed almost violently. I could feel my inner walls gripping his cock as he thrust into me one last time spilling deep inside of me.

We laid there on the hood of the car, his body on top of mine, the only sounds in the night air were our panting breaths and the clicking of the light bar as the red strobe lights spun around.

With one more kiss he finally pulled himself up and out of me smiling like the Cheshire cat. I slid off the hood smoothing out my skirt once I was standing again and then setting my bra and shirt to rights.

Looking up at him once more I grinned asking, "So why did you pull me over Trooper Northman?"

He had just finished adjusting his uniform and he stepped closer wrapping me up in his arms answering, "I wanted to tell you I have to stay an hour later tonight. The patrolman relieving me is running late."

Kissing me again on the lips he asked, "And why were you speeding Mrs. Northman?"

"Because I got held up at the doctor's office and was running late. I guess I don't have to worry about getting dinner started anytime soon."

"Why were you at the doctor's?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowed with concern.

"Because…I'm late." I watched his expression as he turned that over in his mind.

Cautiously squeezing my waist he looked at me expectantly. "And?"

Grinning like a fool I answered, "And…"

**So, there you have it. Just a little down and dirty fun. Let me know what you think, or if you'd like to make a suggestion on another uniform you'd like to see Eric wear. **


	2. Sentinel of The Tomb

**A/N: This one is somewhat different than the last story and a lot longer than my regular chapters. So, without further ado, I give you Staff Sergeant Eric Northman, United States Army, 3****rd**** U.S. Infantry, Company E of The Old Guard. Warning: There's a boo hoo moment in the beginning.**

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns them. I'm just giving Eric a rifle and clicking his heels.**

Sentinel of The Tomb

**EPOV**

I walk across the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery as the sun is starting to rise. Their approaching rays wash over the ground bathing my fellow soldiers in warmth as they lie in their final resting place. I am in awe of the view and proud to have been chosen to guard the Tomb of the Unknowns, which has been guarded 24 hours a day 365 days a year since 1937.

To earn this privilege I had to memorize and recite verbatim the seven page history of Arlington National Cemetery. I memorized the names and grave locations of nearly 300 of our fallen brothers and sisters, and learned the guard-change ceremony and the manual of arms that takes place during the inspection portion of the Changing of the Guard in order to earn a "walk".

Today is April 1st, my first 24 hour shift, and I'm eager as I make my way to the Tomb Guard Quarters below the Memorial Display Room of the Memorial Amphitheater. I put on my uniform and inspect my M-14 rifle one last time before heading to the plaza for the Changing of the Guard.

As I leave the Quarters I unlock the bolt of my M-14, the sound of it signaling the relief commander to start the ceremony. He walks out to the Tomb and salutes, then faces the spectators and asks them to stand and stay silent during the ceremony.

He approaches me and conducts a detailed white-glove inspection of my weapon, checking each part of the rifle once. We then turn and meet the retiring Sentinel at the center of the matted path in front of the Tomb, all three of us saluting the Unknowns.

The commander orders the relieved Sentinel, "Pass on your orders." The current Sentinel commands, "Post and orders, remain as directed." I reply, "Orders acknowledged" and step into position on the black mat.

I march 21 steps down the black mat behind the Tomb, turn east for 21 seconds, turn north for 21 seconds and then take 21 steps down the mat to repeat the process. After each turn I execute a sharp "shoulder-arms" movement to place the weapon on the shoulder closest to the visitors to signify that I stand between the Tomb and any possible threat. I take 21 steps and pause for 21 seconds because it symbolizes the highest military honor that can be bestowed, the 21 gun salute.

I will be on the walk for one hour before I am relieved in another Changing of the Guard ceremony, only to return to the walk three hours later, repeating the process for the next 24 hours.

As I turn east and count for 21 seconds before turning north, I can hear a live 21 gun salute followed by the sound of Taps playing in the distance and know that another fellow soldier is being laid to rest. As I make my way back down the mat I offer a silent prayer in his or her honor.

**SPOV**

I jumped all three times as the 7 rifles were shot, clutching the folded flag in my arms. I stood amongst his army brethren with tears streaming down my face as my brother's body was lowered into the ground. The sound of Taps started to play and I fell to my knees beside his grave overcome with grief.

Jason had enlisted in the army after 9-11. He loved our country and was proud to defend her and our freedom. I was always worried about him, but he assured me that he was doing what he felt to be right and if he did die defending our country to not be sad, but to be proud for there was no more noble act.

Last week, as I was washing dishes in the farmhouse we grew up in, I watched an unfamiliar car coming up the long gravel driveway. Drying my hands as I went, I pulled open the front door and stepped out onto the porch. Two men in army uniforms got out of the front of the car with somber looks on their faces and my breath hitched in my throat. I felt knots form in my stomach and when the priest from our parish church got out of the back seat I collapsed to the floor screaming, "NOOOO!"

Jason had been out on patrol somewhere in Afghanistan when a truck in his convoy detonated a roadside bomb. The rest of the vehicles were hit with a barrage of gunfire from enemy militants hiding behind a natural rock formation. Jason's unit took up a position across from them using the vehicles as a shield from the gunfire. The enemy had the upper hand because they were in a higher position allowing them to pick off the soldiers that strayed too far from their cover.

Growing up, Jason had always been a fast runner. He had won every track tournament he'd ever participated in all through high school, and if the football was thrown to him during the game it was a guaranteed touchdown. No one could catch him.

Seeing members of his unit dropping around him with bullet wounds propelled Jason into action. After pulling them to safety he ran the length of the convoy of trucks, sprinting in between two of them to come up on the side of the rock formation. He made his way higher before throwing a hand grenade into a large basin-like enclosure that held the majority of the enemy fighters giving his fellow soldiers time to scramble into better positions. He then ran forward picking off as many of the enemy fighters as he could before he was shot by a sniper that had been farther down the line.

They had flown Jason to the nearest medical center, but he died during surgery as they were trying to remove the bullet from his chest. They said he alone saved the majority of his unit from certain death and he was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for his actions that day.

Jason had been the only family I had left. The rest of our family had passed on and were in the Sweet Home Cemetery in a field next to the farmhouse. The plots were all full, so I chose to have Jason buried in Arlington National Cemetery. I wanted others to know my brother's name and what he died for. I knew there, he would be honored every day. It was far away from our Louisiana home but I promised I would visit him four times a year. I would come during the last week of March for the anniversary of his death and stay until April 1st, the day he was buried. I would return in July for my birthday, and again in October for his, and lastly at Christmas because those are the occasions you want to spend with family.

After receiving condolences and well wishes from the small crowd I decided to walk for a bit to clear my mind as best I could. I wandered all over the cemetery for hours, reading the different names on the headstones as I walked, the folded flag still clutched to my chest. The air was fragrant with the hundreds of cherry blossom trees in full bloom scattered everywhere and spring bulbs erupted from the ground bringing color and life to a place that was so full of grief.

I eventually came upon the plaza where the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier stood. I walked down the steps to the railing in front of the Tomb and sat watching the soldier pacing back and forth on the black mat. I found his rhythmic walk, with his pauses and turns to be very soothing and hypnotic. I could hear a clicking noise whenever his feet came together and while watching him I let my mind wander to every memory I had of Jason and I growing up. I felt the tears start to fall again and I let them, hoping they would take some of my unbearable grief with them.

**EPOV**

It was during my second walk of my first day that I saw her. She sat on the bottom step in a black dress with her blond hair falling over her shoulders. She slowly rocked herself back and forth, clutching a folded flag to her chest, as tears fell down her face. I wondered if it was her loved one that had received the 21 gun salute I had heard earlier that day.

I remained focused on my walk, but caught glimpses of her in my peripheral view as I made my turns. Seeing her so overcome with grief had me wanting to pull her into my arms and whisper soothing words into her ear.

When I was relieved of my walk at the Changing of the Guard ceremony I looked more closely at her as I left for the Quarters. She was sitting alone just staring at the Sentinel while stray tears made their way down her face. I couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was, even while she was in such despair.

After changing out of my uniform into civilian clothes, I pressed it once more making it perfect for my next walk 3 hours later. I headed out to get something to eat and made a last minute decision to grab some tissues in case she was still there.

I made my way back to the Tomb and saw her in the same spot as before. I approached her slowly and sat down next to her on the step. She was still lost in her reverie but as I held out my hand full of tissues, the movement attracted her attention. Staring at my hand for a moment, she reached out and took them from me.

"Thank you," she whispered.

I sat there for another moment before saying, "I'm sorry for your loss."

She just nodded before her breath hitched in her throat as she tried to quell the next round of tears. I ended up just sitting with her in silence before I had to head back down to get ready for my next walk. Standing up, I reached over and gave her shoulder a light squeeze of support, and made my way back to the Quarters.

By the time I came back up in uniform for my next walk she was gone.

**SPOV**

As I headed out to the cemetery to visit Jason on my birthday I couldn't help but recall the stranger that had sat with me on the steps the day of the funeral. I had been feeling utterly alone in the world coming to terms with the fact I had no family left. I had friends, but it wasn't the same. When he sat down next to me in silence, his presence alone filled some of the void I'd been feeling. He seemed to understand what I was going through and just offered me comfort by not letting me be alone. I would always be grateful to him.

I placed fresh flowers on Jason's grave and sat there most of the morning talking to him, telling him everything he'd missed. I cried a few times, but it wasn't as bad as before. I eventually got up and walked around reading more headstones before I found myself back at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I sat down where I'd been the first time I was here, watching the soldier's movements. I leaned back on my hands and closed my eyes to the sun, listening to his steps and movements while remembering happy times with Jason.

I was lost in my memories when I heard the sound of someone sitting down next to me. Opening my eyes, I looked over to see the stranger from before. A look of recognition on his face told me he seemed to remember me as well.

Smiling at him I said, "Thank you for sitting with me that day. I should have thanked you then, but you have no idea how much comfort you gave me by just sitting with me and for that I will always be grateful to you." My eyes were filled with tears as I spoke, but I did my best to not let them fall.

He smiled back before asking, "Do you mind if I ask who it was you're grieving for?"

I went on to tell him about Jason and it felt good to talk to someone about him. My friends at home avoided talking about him at all, I assumed to not upset me, but I felt talking about him would help keep a part of him alive even if only in my memories.

After talking non-stop for what felt like hours I asked him if he was here to visit someone as well. That's when he told me he was one of the Sentinels of the Tomb. The way he spoke of his duty and the honor he felt being a Sentinel was very inspiring. You could feel his love of country in every word he spoke and I felt even better knowing there was someone like him here to watch over Jason as well. I learned his name was Eric Northman and he was a staff sergeant. He had been in the army for 12 years and was officially stationed at Fort Myers but had been all over the world, including serving two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan before coming here.

I felt my stomach growl and realized I hadn't eaten anything that day. Turning to him I said, "I'm sorry for keeping you here for so long. " Glancing at my watch I saw it was already after 5 o'clock.

He looked at his watch as well before asking, "Could I take you to dinner? I only came by to prep my uniform for tomorrow, so I have the evening free."

"That would be nice. I'd love to."

He followed me in his car back to my hotel where I left my rental and got into his. Our conversation flowed easily during the drive to the restaurant and all through dinner. I felt like I had known him for years.

I also couldn't help but notice how handsome he was. He had to be at least 6' 4" with blond hair and blue eyes. His shoulders were broad, his frame was lean and he carried himself with confidence, but not in a cocky way. He was sure of whom he was inside and it showed on the outside.

As he told me about his life in the army I caught myself staring at his mouth, and the way it moved as he spoke. His lips were full and looked soft, his teeth gleaming white and perfectly straight and he had a lopsided grin that could make your heart stop. His jaw was squared and his cheekbones were defined giving him a strong profile when he turned his head. His eyes are what caught my attention the most. They were cerulean blue with lines at the edges that crinkled when he smiled.

I was too busy staring to register what he had been saying when the lopsided grin came back to his face. "Sookie?"

Blushing once I realized I had no idea what he was talking about I said, "I'm sorry. I guess I drifted there for a minute. What were you saying?"

I was sure he knew what I had been "drifting" about when he grinned wider saying, "I asked how long you would be in town for."

I felt my face fall when I answered, "I'm flying out tomorrow morning."

His grin disappeared too. I quickly followed up with, "But I'll be back in October and again at Christmas."

Smiling again he said, "I'd like to see you again when you come back. Do you think we could maybe keep in touch while you're gone?"

"I'd like that very much." We exchanged phone numbers and email addresses before leaving the restaurant. When we pulled up in front of my hotel we sat looking at each other and for the first time that day neither one of us had anything to say.

We each leaned toward the other simultaneously and when our lips met I could've sworn sparks flew. His kiss was soft and tender and he tasted like heaven. Pulling back like the perfect gentleman he said, "I had a really good time with you today. I'm glad you came back."

I could feel my heart beating in my chest like a hummingbird's wings. "Me too, thank you for today, for everything."

He gave me one more chaste kiss on the lips before I got out of the car and floated back up to my room high on Eric Northman's kisses.

Over the next 3 months we talked or emailed each other every day. I told him all about my childhood and how our Gran had raised Jason and I after our parents died. I learned he had been born in Sweden and his mother was American so he had dual citizenship. They moved to the States when he was seven and his younger sister, Pam, was four after his parents divorced. He fell in love with America instantly and that was why he joined the army straight out of high school.

Eric had come to fill a void in my life. I felt we had become very close during that time even though we hadn't seen each other, but neither one of us brought up what "we" were, or if there even was a "we", but each of us had made it perfectly clear that neither of us were seeing anyone else.

The day finally arrived that I was going back to Virginia and I was very excited. I knew Eric would be working today, but I was going to head over there after I checked in at the hotel and we were going to get a quick dinner in between his "walks". After today he had the next 96 hours off so he planned to take me sightseeing around Washington D.C.

I parked at the cemetery and went over to Jason's grave, again laying down fresh flowers. After wishing him a Happy Birthday and remembering birthdays past, I made my way over to the Tomb.

Walking down the steps, I took my customary seat and watched what was before me. Eric was wearing his army dress blues. His pants were royal blue with a gold band running down the outer seam over shiny black dress shoes. He wore a white collared dress shirt with a black tie under a dark blue coat secured with gold buttons down the center and a ceremonial light blue belt with gold trim cinched at his waist. A light blue braided rope was attached at his right shoulder running under his arm and a blue rainbow shaped patch reading 'Honor Guard' on his left shoulder and a gold band around each sleeve at his wrists. Various medals adorned the left side of his chest and the Tomb Identification Badge on his right breast pocket which was a silver inverted open laurel wreath surrounding a representation of the front elevation of the tomb with the words 'Honor Guard' engraved at the base. He told me before they wear no rank on their uniforms so they don't outrank the unknowns they guard. He wore his blue dress cap with a black bill and fitted sunglasses to deflect the reflection of the sun's rays off of the Tomb. The white gloves he wore were wet to help him maintain his grip on his rifle.

How did I not notice this before? Granted, I had been very upset the first time I came here, and was barely aware of anything around me. And, the two times I had seen Eric he had been in his civilian clothes, but, my God. He was like a walking sex god in that uniform. My mind immediately took a nosedive into the gutter when I thought of how I liked how he handled his rifle and wondered what else he could do with it. I had to swallow the drool that was pooling in my mouth.

I kept my eyes glued to every movement he made. I couldn't tell if he had seen me yet because of the sunglasses he was wearing, but I was certainly enjoying the view from where I was. The telltale sound of the unlocking of the M-14 rifle of Eric's relieving Sentinel marked the top of the hour and the time I'd get to spend with Eric afterwards.

**EPOV**

I was stunned, to say the least, when I came out from the Quarters that day in July and saw her there on the steps again. I had wondered what had happened to her and who she was. When I saw her sitting there with her eyes closed and her face turned towards the sun, she looked like an angel. I had to talk to her again.

Spending that entire day with Sookie was odd in the best of ways. I immediately felt comfortable around her and found myself babbling about my life with no qualms whatsoever. Normally I'm a private person and don't offer much unsolicited information, but when I was with her it all came pouring out.

When I took her back to the hotel and kissed her I felt a charge run through my body. I had to keep myself from pulling her over the center console and into my arms to keep her there with me. I let myself have a consolation kiss from her before she got out of the car, but as I watched her walk away I felt somewhat better knowing she wanted to keep in touch and possibly get together again the next time she was in Virginia.

The next three months were both the longest of my life and yet they flew by whenever I talked to Sookie on the phone or read her emails. I told her things about my childhood as did she. The more I talked to her the more I wanted her in my life.

We hadn't discussed what our relationship was, but neither one of us was seeing anyone else, so I held out hope she'd want to see me even if it had to be long distance for a while.

The day had finally arrived. She was flying in this morning and would be meeting me at the Tomb later on in the day so we could grab some dinner in between my walks.

I saw her in my peripheral vision as she came down the steps and sat in her normal spot. I couldn't look over at her, but I caught glimpses here and there. After the Changing of the Guard ceremony I went down into the Quarters and changed into civilian clothes, sprinting back up to see her. She had walked to the top of the steps to wait for me and when she saw me her face lit up with a huge smile and she ran and jumped into my arms giving me a hug and kiss.

"You look great," I murmured into her hair. Setting her down in front of me I could see the weight of the grief she'd held the last time I'd seen her had lifted. Her blue eyes sparkled and she looked happy. She was wearing khaki skirt that ended just below her knees with a cranberry v-neck top that clung to all of her curves.

"So do you," she said as I watched a blush creep up from her chest to settle on her cheeks. I wondered what that was about but decided not to ask.

Grabbing onto her hand I led her to my car and we headed for the same restaurant I had taken her to the first time. We spent the entire time talking and laughing. I loved the way her whole face lit up when she laughed. All too soon it was time to go back so I could prep my uniform before the next Changing of the Guard ceremony. The cemetery was closed to the public after 5 from October until April so I had to leave Sookie in the parking lot.

Getting out, I walked her to her car and promised to call her the next day. My shift ended at 6 a.m. so I'd sleep for a few hours and come and pick her up around lunch time. As we stood next to her car I had the overwhelming urge to kiss her again, so I did. Leaning down, placing a hand on either side of her face, I pulled her lips to mine just brushing them lightly. Her tongue traced the contour of my lower lip and my hands slid down her arms to wrap around her waist, pulling her flush against my body. The sudden contact caused her to gasp and I took the opportunity to slide my tongue into her mouth, exploring everywhere I could.

Knowing I was already pushing the time I had to get back, I reluctantly pulled away and smiled when she whimpered as I did.

Giving her one last soft kiss I said, "I'll call you tomorrow." I stood there and watched as she climbed into her car and as she drove away I felt a piece of myself going with her.

The next day when 6 a.m. came I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. I had the next four days to spend with Sookie. I drove to my apartment outside of Arlington and carried in my uniforms so I could prep them at some point before I had to report back.

I lay in bed and tried to get some sleep, but I was too excited at the thought she was here so I jumped into the shower and called her by 9.

"Eric?" she asked excitedly, "How come you aren't sleeping?"

_Because I couldn't stand the thought of being asleep with you so close._ "I took a couple of naps in between walks, so I'm good. Is this too early? I didn't wake you did I?"

"NO!" she shouted. "I mean, no, I was already awake. I'm excited to see our nation's capitol."

"Can I come by and pick you up now?" I caught my reflection in the window and saw I had a huge grin on my face.

"I'd like that. I'll be downstairs waiting."

We said our goodbyes and hung up and I practically ran to the car. She was standing on the curb in front of the hotel wearing a pair of dark wash low riding jeans and a blue cotton shirt that scooped down in the front showing the very tops of her breasts. I felt the stir in my pants immediately.

Getting out of the car, I walked around and gave her a kiss on the lips before opening the car door so she could get in.

The drive into Washington D.C. took less than 10 minutes, so I found a parking space and we got out to walk. The day flew by as we saw all of the different monuments, and took tours of the Capitol Building and the White House. We held hands the entire day and kissed a few times when an opportunity presented itself. She didn't seem to be aware of just how sexy she was. She would lean into me, her breasts rubbing my arm or chest, and she would chew on her bottom lip when she was concentrating on something. I found myself reaching out to touch her whenever I could whether it was to brush a stray lock of her hair back into place, or pull her to me for an impromptu hug. I wanted her more than I've ever wanted anything.

As I drove her back to the hotel I found that I wasn't ready to let her go yet. I parked my car and just sat there looking at her with our hands still clasped together. "I don't want this day to end," I admitted.

Her gaze dropped from mine and she blushed as she said, "It doesn't have to." Lifting her now hooded eyes back to mine she asked almost whispering the words, "Would you like to come up to my room?"

I wasn't sure what she wanted to happen once we got there, but I decided to just let her take the lead.

**SPOV**

I knew I liked Eric before I ever came back to Virginia, but after seeing him in that uniform and spending the entire day with him I wanted him like no other. Between the kisses and hugs all day mixed with me rubbing up on him whenever I could, it was like all day foreplay and my panties had been dampened the entire day.

When I invited him to my room I decided I was just going to go for it. I wasn't sure where "we" stood, but I knew if it ended tomorrow I would always regret it if I hadn't.

We held hands going into the hotel and up the elevator to my room but no words were said between us. After entering my room I turned to face him and pulled his lips to mine for a kiss. It started off very sweet and tender, each of us exploring the other. I held his face to mine with my hand resting on the back of his head while the other snaked around to his back. His hands had come to rest on my waist holding me to him and I could feel his growing erection against my stomach.

We stood there kissing for a while and his hands never strayed from my waist, but I wanted more. I pushed against his body with my own while maintaining our kiss until the back of his legs were flush with the bed. I leaned into him harder until he sat on the bed and I crawled up to straddle his lap as our kisses became more heated. He trailed his lips along my jaw to my ear which he grazed with his teeth, sucking the lobe into his mouth and giving it a soft bite while I rubbed my center against his erection, my hands touching every part of him that I could.

The temperature in the room seemed to have spiked up about 20 degrees so I reached down to the hem of my shirt, lifting it up and over my head exposing my dark blue lace bra. I watched his eyes darken with lust as he saw what I was wearing and his hands and mouth immediately began exploring the new territory before them.

His tongue traced along the edges of my bra while his hands caressed them, running his thumbs over each hardened nipple through the fabric before removing it all together with a flick of his fingers at my back. He lovingly kissed and caressed them giving each one ample attention with his mouth while I held his head to my chest and raked my nails up and down his back.

Needing more contact I pulled away from him long enough to pull his shirt over his head and pushed him to lie down. He positioned himself in the middle of the bed and I crawled on top of him kissing him once more. I pulled away, placing open mouth kisses along his jaw and across his neck. I licked my way from his collarbone down his smooth defined chest to one of his nipples. He gasped and held my head to his body as I swirled my tongue around one, sucking it into my mouth, while caressing the other with my fingertips.

I continued my path down his body with my tongue over his hardened abs to the button of his blue jeans. Crawling in between his parted legs I placed my hands on the insides of each of his knees and ran them up his inner thighs to his bulging erection, my hands meeting there to stroke him through his jeans. He hissed as my hands made contact and bucked his hips upwards with his eyes locked onto mine.

I unbuttoned his jeans while maintaining our gaze, but when I unzipped them and his cock sprang free I looked down and gasped. He was huge. I couldn't take my eyes from it and found myself reaching out to touch it. I tried to wrap my hand around it at the base, but my fingers barely touched. I stroked him up and down completely mesmerized before leaning down to take what I could into my mouth. Eric groaned as soon as my lips made contact and I looked back at him to see him watching my every move. I continued to work his cock with both my hand and mouth and found maintaining eye contact with him while doing it to be a huge turn-on, especially when he moaned with his hands fisted into the sheets on each side.

I guess he was near his breaking point because he pulled me back to his lips and kissed me with all of the passion he had, turning our bodies so that I was now lying underneath him. He kissed and licked his way down my body, stopping once again at each breast, before making his way farther down. When he got to my center he kissed me through my jeans, breathing out hot air through the fabric. "_Please…,"_ escaped my lips as I grabbed onto his head. He pulled off my jeans and growled when he saw the barely there matching blue lace thong I had on. He placed his lips on my inner right thigh and trailed his tongue up to where my leg joined my hip. From there he traced the top of my thong and back down to my left inner thigh, avoiding where I wanted him most. He retraced his way back up my thigh, but when he got to the top of my thong he finally trailed downward, kissing and licking me through the fabric. Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore he pulled the ties at each side loose and away from my body while licking my clit with the gentlest of touches. I gasped and my whole body arched from the sudden direct contact it had been craving. Pushing my hips back down and holding them there he licked along my slit, growling again when he saw how wet I was for him. I felt the vibration of his growl run through my body down to my toes and I wantonly held his head in place while I pushed myself against his face.

He continued lapping up my juices before concentrating his tongue entirely on my clit, alternating between flicking it with his tongue and suckling it between his lips while he thrust two fingers inside of me. I felt my orgasm building to near epic proportions and when he hooked his fingers and hit my g-spot I came around his fingers screaming, "_ERIC!"_

He drew out my orgasm, continuing his ministrations until I felt another one building. I watched as he kicked his jeans off before sitting up and rolling a condom on. Bracing on his arms while hovering over me he leaned down to kiss me while pushing just the tip of his cock into me. He continued to kiss me while pushing into me more and more, allowing me to adjust to his size, until he was finally fully sheathed within me. We both moaned in pleasure. I wrapped my legs around him and he began to thrust into me, kissing me along my neck and jaw and then back to my lips. I matched him thrust for thrust and as they became faster and more frantic I could feel him swelling even larger with his impending release. He snaked his hand between us and began rubbing my clit in circles fast and hard and I came screaming again, my own triggering his and I felt his release as he screamed my name with my walls spasming around him.

We lay there for a while, our breaths panting and our heartbeats racing, while just staring into each other's eyes. As I lay there looking at him I finally admitted to myself that I was falling in love with him. I knew it started three months ago when our long distance friendship began. I found myself wanting to be with him all of the time and the thought of not seeing him again didn't sit well. I could only hope he felt the same.

My heart swelled when he looked into my eyes and whispered, "I love you."

XXX

Eric and I continued our long distance relationship and I flew back to Virginia to spend Christmas with him, while he came home with me for two weeks on New Years Eve. When I returned to Virginia the following spring he proposed to me on the steps in front of the Tomb where we had first met. We had a small ceremony at the post chapel that summer with him wearing his dress uniform, and I moved to Virginia but kept the farmhouse for when he retired from the army. Our son Jason was born the following year. I had a family again.

**So, what do you think? Too Long? Too much drama? Too lame? Not enough porn? Too much plot? I'm a tad nervous about what you all think, but I'll admit to my lameness that I actually got a little misty-eyed a few times writing it. So?**


	3. SEa Air & Land

**A/N: YAY! Uniform-alicious Eric is back. For those of you that don't know, I work on a military base that is classified as a "Joint Base" and has all 4 branches of the military stationed here as well as the Coast Guard. They also happen to train allied foreign military forces here, so I get to see their uniforms as well! I don't see me running out of "inspiration" any time soon. The following story was inspired by the Easter Sunday 2009 rescue of Captain Richard Phillips of the American cargo ship Maersk Alabama by the US Navy SEALs. So, may I present to you, Chief Petty Officer (CPO) Eric Northman, United States Navy SEAL. "**_**The only easy day was yesterday" – **_**SEAL team motto.**

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns them all. I'm just getting Eric ALL wet! (I figured I could return the favor. ;) )**

**SE**a **A**ir & **L**and

**SPOV**

I carried my cup of coffee out onto the deck and leaned against the railing as I watched the sun rising over the horizon. I listened to the waves lap against the hull below. No matter which direction I turned, all I could see was the vast Indian Ocean water for miles. I couldn't believe how differently my life had turned out than what I had always imagined it would be when I was a young girl.

I grew up in a small town in northern Louisiana and had never had any thoughts about leaving it. I imagined I would grow up, get married, and have a house full of children with a white picket fence. I met my best friend when I was seven years old. I was walking home from school one September afternoon, my new home now that I was living with Gran. My parents had died the previous summer in a freak storm that carried their car into the river in a flash flood. I had become very quiet and withdrawn after their death and some of the other kids exploited my weakness by picking one me whenever they got the chance knowing I wouldn't fight back. I was a less than a mile away from the farmhouse when I heard them taunting me from behind.

"HEY! There's Crazy Sookie! Where are you going Crazy Sookie? It's not like you have parents waiting for you at home!"

I turned my head slightly and saw three older boys from school all laughing their heads off. I felt the tears well up in my eyes and I quickened my step to try and put more distance between us. I could hear their footsteps falling faster behind me and I broke into a run to get away from them when I was suddenly being pulled to the ground. The leader of the group had grabbed onto the backpack that was strapped to my shoulders causing me fall into the sandy gravel road. I felt the rocks tear into my knees and the sting of the blood seeping out of my new wounds, tears falling down my face as I began to sob in earnest.

As he began to tug harder at my backpack I instinctively gripped the straps harder in an attempt to keep it away from him. When he became frustrated I watched as he pulled his foot back behind him and I closed my eyes and curled my arms and legs into my body to protect myself from the oncoming kick. He never got the chance. I felt when he had let go of my backpack and heard his body hit the ground. I opened my eyes to see him lying on his back with my savior straddling him beating his face into a bloody mess, the other two boys frozen in the spot they were standing on.

I recognized my savior as the new boy that had just moved to town a month earlier. I had seen him in church with his parents. They had become the talk of the town, their notoriety due only to the fact that the town was so small and the last time anyone had moved to Bon Temps without any family ties to the area was in the 1940's.

I watched as he got up off the bully and dusted himself off. Looking first at the two frozen statues and then back down at the crying bully he said, "You WILL leave her alone from now on or else you're going to have to deal with me." They looked back at him, nodding their heads and then the three of them took off running back the way they came.

He walked over to me and knelt down asking, "Are you okay?" I nodded and he helped me stand up. I cried out at the unexpected pain in my knee as I tried to put my weight on it, not realizing I had twisted it in my fall. He studied me for a second before holding out his hand. "Give me your backpack." I let it slide down my arms and handed it over to him. He then turned his back to me and squatted down. Looking back over his shoulder he said, "Jump on." He carried me piggy back all the way to the farmhouse and we were inseparable from then on.

Eric Northman was my first and only true love. He was two years older than me, but it didn't matter to either one of us. His family had moved to Bon Temps when his father retired from the Navy. They had lived all over the world and his mother wanted him to finally have roots and figured living in a small town would give him that. He had issues with his father who seemed like a tough disciplinarian and had high expectations for Eric when it came to his schoolwork and athletic abilities. Over time I had learned that Eric's father was gone for the majority of his life before retiring and moving to Bon Temps having been away at sea. Now that he was back Eric wanted to please his father so he studied hard never getting anything but straight A's every marking period and trained his body with daily runs, weight lifting and swimming.

We were best friends until the summer before I started high school when he asked me to be his girlfriend. I was overjoyed. I always knew he wanted to join the Navy, like his father, but I guess I had never thought about what that would mean for us. Eric graduated from high school as the valedictorian and had already enlisted in the Navy that spring. He was leaving for basic training at the end of August and we spent every day of the summer before my junior year of high school together. The week before he was due to leave he told me that he thought it would be best for us to not be a couple any more once he was gone. We both cried a lot during that conversation but I understood his reasoning. He knew firsthand what family life was like for those in the Navy. He also knew of my dream of the house full of kids and a white picket fence and thought he couldn't give that to me while he was in the military. He wanted me to have a chance to fulfill that dream, even if it couldn't be with him. The night before he left for good I snuck out and met him down by the lake. Regardless of whether or not we would ever find our way back to each other we each wanted the other to be our 'first'. We made love on a blanket underneath the stars and it was perfect.

We wrote letters back and forth for a while, but over time his letters came further and further apart until they just stopped coming all together. I think he knew I would never really let him go so he pulled himself away. His parents ended up getting divorced a year after he was gone and they both moved away so I had no idea how his life progressed after that.

That was almost twenty years ago. I ended up going to Tulane University and getting my undergraduate degree in Community Health Sciences. I earned my Master's through the Master's International Program with the Peace Corps. After completing three semesters of course work I travelled to Mozambique in Africa where I finished my degree in the form of writing a thesis on my volunteer work there.

After I returned to the States I ended up working for the World Health Organization out of their New York office. I've been all over the world helping the impoverished and sick citizens of many third world countries. I never did get my house full of kids or a white picket fence, although I came thisclose to getting married once. Bill worked for the WHO as well and we held many of the same beliefs. I had gone home to visit Gran about a month before the wedding and after a long discussion with her I came to the conclusion that while I loved Bill, I wasn't in love with him. We'd been together for two years and I knew deep down I was only with him because he was 'safe'. I went back to New York and after another long discussion with Bill we called off the wedding. He ended up marrying another WHO employee, Judith, and they have two kids now. Seeing them together I knew that's who he was meant to be with, not me. My soul mate was somewhere out there in the world, more than likely on a battleship or a submarine.

And now, here I am, on a cargo ship sailing around the Horn of Africa on our way to Mozambique bringing much needed medical supplies and humanitarian aid. I've been on a few of these missions and always got such joy when I was helping someone firsthand that I always volunteered when I could. I was making my way back to the galley when I heard the first burst of gunfire.

**EPOV**

God it was hot out today. We had a much needed day off after running training drills for the last fourteen days straight here in Manda Bay, Kenya. The rest of my team was scattered all around me. We're officially the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group commonly known as the DEVGRU or SEAL Team Six, the US Navy's secretive tier-one Counter Terrorism and Special Mission Unit. Because of the nature of our missions we need to be able to blend in with civilians. We don't maintain the military haircuts and can grow our hair and beards long and rarely put on a uniform. We don't salute or address each other by rank, using first names or nicknames instead. They call me 'Viking' because they claim I look like Thor with my tall frame and blond hair that's long enough the brush against my shoulders.

I've been on a SEAL Team for the majority of my naval career. Going through all of the training to become a SEAL was daunting, to say the least, but it definitely weeded out the ones that couldn't survive the things we needed to do. Especially hell week where we trained for five days straight with less than four hours of sleep the entire time. Seventy to eighty percent fail the initial course and it only gets harder from there. We train continuously and are away for months at a time.

None of the men in my platoon, myself included, have much of a personal life. The ones that had been married aren't any longer which only cements my decision all of those years ago to let Sookie go. I haven't been in a relationship since then. I haven't necessarily been celibate, but I doubted anyone could live up to my 'Sookie Standards'. She ruined me for all other women. I often wondered how she was doing, how many kids she had. I'd heard a few years ago that she was getting married, and while it hurt like hell, I was still happy for her that her dreams were becoming a reality. She deserved having all of her dreams coming true.

My thoughts were interrupted by my approaching AOIC (Assistant Officer in Charge). He proceeded to tell us that two days ago an American cargo ship had been attacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean on the Horn of Africa. The crew managed to fight them off, but the pirates managed to get away with one of the American civilians on the ship's 25 foot covered lifeboat and were demanding a ransom.

The USS Bainbridge responded to the scene from over 300 miles away, but the pirates weren't cooperating. We packed our gear and scrambled to a waiting plane at a nearby private airstrip. We flew to within 10 miles of the scene and parachuted down into the ocean where we were picked up by the USS Halyburton which was on its way to join the Bainbridge. Under the cover of darkness we left the Halyburton and boarded the Bainbridge which had managed to talk the three pirates into allowing them to attach a line to the lifeboat which had run out of fuel and was low on food and water. The hostage had been with them for three days by then. We got the okay from the President to use deadly force if it appeared the hostage's life was in eminent danger. All I knew was that it was an American female civilian. I never wanted the particulars in this type of situation because I found it to be too distracting. I didn't want to think of them as someone's daughter or sister because the odds were that this wasn't going to turn out well for them and it would be all that much harder to move on mentally to the next mission.

Three of our team had camouflaged themselves and their sniper rifles in the same gray color of the Bainbridge's deck and belly-crawled to the fantail where they took up their positions. They could see through one of the port holes of the lifeboat with their scope that the hostage had been blindfolded with her arms tied behind her. One of the pirates held an AK47 pointed at her back. We took that as 'eminent danger' and put our plan to get her back in motion.

The three snipers held their position through the night and kept watch with night vision gear as the Bainbridge slowly towed the lifeboat closer closing the distance to within 40 yards. Myself, and two others of my platoon slipped into the water in our scuba gear and silently made our way to the lifeboat. When I was close enough I emerged high enough out of the water to toss a bottle cap onto the lid of the hatch and heard it bounce off of the door and scatter down to the deck. I submerged underneath the water again as the hatch door opened and two of the pirates looked out to see what the cause of the noise was. It created the opportunity we were hoping for when the three snipers volleyed three shots simultaneously, killing all three pirates.

I heard the hostage scream out as I pulled myself into the lifeboat seconds later. The bodies of all three pirates were sprawled out and I had just enough room to get inside. The pirate that had been holding the AK47 at the hostage's back had fallen forward and had her pinned beneath his body as she struggled to right herself. I pulled him off while saying, "It's okay. You're safe now. We're here to rescue you."

She was crying and shaking like a leaf. Her clothing was ripped and covered in the pirate's blood. I squatted down in front of her saying, "I'm going to remove your blindfold." Hooking my fingers underneath the dirty fabric I slid it up and over her head and what I saw stopped my heart. _My Sookie._

I heard the others boarding the lifeboat and the sound of the approaching motor boat but all I could do was stare at her with my mouth gaping open.

She had a look of disbelief on her face. "Eric?" As the realization hit her that she was going to be okay she started sobbing.

Oh my God. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight as she cried into my chest. I cut her wrists free and her arms automatically wrapped themselves around me. We stayed like that for what felt like forever until I heard, "Viking. The boat's waiting. Let's get her outta here."

She started chuckling into my chest. "Viking?" She looked up at me and my heart stopped again. She was even more beautiful than I remembered. The years had been kind to her and while I knew she was 35 she could've easily passed for her mid-twenties.

I put on my lopsided grin that she always loved and said, "Yeah, Viking. Come on, let's get out of here." I helped her out of the hatch and into the waiting rigid-hulled inflatable raft. We got back to the Bainbridge where she was greeted by the commander and the ship's doctor. She refused to let go of my hand and I had no problem with that at all. I followed her to sick-bay and waited in a little sitting area while the doctor examined her privately. He came up to me when he was through saying he was going to go brief the commander but that she was asking for me.

I walked to the open doorway and found the room she had been in was empty. I could hear the shower running in the attached bathroom and I shut the door to her room and sat down in a chair to wait. I had slipped out of my scuba gear while I was waiting earlier and was now wearing only an Under Armor shirt and shorts. After a while I heard the water shut off and within a few minutes she walked out wearing the Navy PT t-shirt and shorts. Both were a little big for her but I'm sure she preferred it to what she had been wearing before. Her blonde hair was wet and dripping down her shoulders and her legs were long and tan. I could still see the scar on her knee that marked the beginning of 'us'. She had a sad smile on her lips and her eyes were filled with tears as she walked towards me. I pulled her into my arms and she curled up into my lap with her head tucked under my chin just like she used to do.

I rocked her back and forth rubbing small circles on her back. I had been debating asking her the one question that superseded the other million questions I had for her, but I just had to know. Whispering so softly I wasn't sure she'd hear me I asked, "Did they hurt you?"

I couldn't bring myself to say the word 'rape' but she must have caught my meaning when she responded, "No, they didn't touch me." I breathed a sigh of relief. She pulled back to look at me. "What are the odds?" I knew what she was talking about. We hadn't seen each other in nearly twenty years. How many people get abducted and held hostage by pirates thousands of miles away from home and are rescued by their first boyfriend?

I chuckled answering, "Pretty slim. What were you doing on a cargo ship in the Indian Ocean?"

She smiled saying, "I work for the World Health Organization out of New York. We were transporting medical supplies and other humanitarian aid to Mozambique. I hadn't been back there since my Graduate studies and volunteered to go."

I had no idea. I couldn't help but look down at the ring finger of her left hand. She wasn't wearing a ring, but that didn't necessarily mean she wasn't still married. I also noted there wasn't a tan line there either. I had no right to ask, but I had to know.

"So, other than the last few days, how have you been? I heard a few years back that you were getting married. Did you get your white picket fence and house full of kids?"

She looked down and when her eyes met mine again I could see the sadness behind them. "No, no white picket fence or house full of kids. No husband either. We called it off a month before the wedding. I've been single ever since"

Seeing how sad she was I instantly felt like shit. Not getting married had obviously hurt her and I felt even worse for being happy that she was single. "I'm sorry. He was a fool to let you get away." I looked her right in the eye before adding, "Trust me. He'll regret it. I should know."

"Actually it was my decision to end things. I realized he wasn't the one for me." She took a deep breath and then asked, "How about you? Wife? Girlfriend? Kids?" I watched as she squared her shoulders bracing herself for whatever answer I was going to give her. I felt absurdly happy inside thinking she might actually still have feelings for me.

I let a small grin cross my face answering, "No. No wife. No girlfriend. No kids."

**SPOV**

I looked at him still having a hard time believing he was actually here with me. I don't know how it was allowed in the military but his hair had grown out and was secured in an elastic tie at the base of his neck. He'd gotten a little taller than I remembered and his chest and back were broader as well, but his body was still lean. I could see the cut lines framing every muscle in his chest and abs thanks to the skin tight Under Armor shirt he was wearing. His skin was golden brown indicating how much time he spent outdoors and his face had a day or two of scruffy whiskers. He was better looking than I thought was humanly possible. I don't know if it was seeing him again after spending all of these years still pining away for him. I don't know if it was living through the last few days thinking I was about to die. I don't know if it was because he was hotter than two rabbits making babies in a sock and I hadn't had sex in a few years but I closed the distance between us brushing my lips across his. His arms automatically tightened around me and when I slipped my tongue into his mouth he moaned back into mine.

Our kiss had started off tender and unhurried but as I felt his growing arousal underneath me I turned my body to straddle his lap and held his face to mine by weaving my fingers through his beautiful long locks of hair at the back of his head. I rubbed my heated center up and down his growing length as he broke our kiss and chewed his way down my jaw line to the spot behind my ear that he had discovered back in high school. It apparently still had the same effect now as it did then because I moaned while grinding down on him harder. I felt him smile against my neck as he continued to nip and lick his way down to my collarbone before pulling back to look at me.

He furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "Are you sure you want to do this? You've been through a lot in the last few days and I don't want you to have any regrets later."

I leaned further away from him saying, "I'll regret it if we don't do this" and pulled my t-shirt up and over my head. The doctor only had a t-shirt and shorts to give me so I wasn't wearing a bra or underwear. I don't know how it was even possible but I felt him grow even harder underneath me and he let out a small growl as his hands and mouth made their way to my breasts. As he swirled his tongue around one nipple he mimicked his actions with his fingers on the other. I slipped my hand down between us and pulled his erection free from the straining waistband of his shorts, pumping him with my hand. I'd never felt such heat before, either in my hand, or between my legs.

I could vaguely hear noises through the closed door farther down the hall and knew we didn't have much time before someone would be coming to check on me. Since I had already taken matters into my own hand, so to speak, I merely pulled the crotch of my too big shorts to the side and placed him at my entrance before slowly lowering myself onto him. His breath hitched in his throat at my unexpected move and when he was fully sheathed inside of me I paused allowing us both to enjoy the sensations and feelings coursing through our bodies. He moved his hands to my hips and helped guide me up and down while his mouth took turns at each of my breasts. Our steady rhythm picked up speed and I could feel the pulling sensation in the pit of my stomach and knew I was close. I pulled his lips back to mine kissing him with the longing of every emotion that had built up over the last twenty years before smiling against his lips whispering, "I'm close Viking."

He moved one of his hands from my hip and placed the pad of his thumb on my clit rubbing it in circles in time with our thrusts and my back arched as my orgasm ripped through my body. I made no sound as I had stopped breathing apparently unable to climax and breathe at the same time. Eric held onto my hips and lifted me up and down in two more hard thrusts and buried his face in between my breasts as he spilled deep inside of me. We stayed like that, wrapped up in each other, until the final twitches in our bodies had stopped.

My head had been resting on his shoulder in the crook of his neck enjoying the smell of his skin again. I had been missing it all of these years. I had been missing HIM all of these years. I finally sat up and we readjusted our clothing in case anyone came in. He pulled me back into my original spot on his lap. He used his finger to pull my face up to look at him. "I really missed you," he said. I smiled thinking he must have been reading my mind.

**According to my research the SEALSs don't actually wear uniforms for the most part, but does it really matter? A guy that can take out the enemy from forty yards, in the dark, bobbing up and down in the middle of the ocean? Sexy! I would've made Eric one of the snipers, but I wanted him to be the one to get to Sookie first. Now, before you go getting your panties in a twist because I ended it there, let me just say that I'm willing to continue with THIS Eric and Sookie in the next chapter with him in his Navy dress uniform. IF, I get enough reviews saying that's what you want to see. If not, then I'll just move on to another Eric and Sookie. (Review extortion? Hell yeah!) Let me know what you'd liked to see! *innocently batting eyelashes* ;)**


	4. Fleet Week

**A/N: Review extortion works! I probably shouldn't say this since I won't be able to extort you again, but I would've continued the Navy SEAL Eric story anyway. They wouldn't leave me alone because they need a HEA, and I've found that I can't see how dirty my house is if I only look at the computer keyboard and monitor, so here it is!**

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns them all. I just can't get the Village People's **_**In the Navy**_** song out of my head.**

Fleet Week

**SPOV**

I carried my cup of coffee out onto the deck and leaned against the railing as I watched the sun rising over the horizon. I listened to the birds chirping in the trees above. No matter which direction I turned, all I could see was the darkening sky becoming lighter and lighter for miles. I couldn't believe how differently my life had turned out than what I had always imagined it would be just five years earlier.

_Five years earlier…_

**EPOV**

It broke my heart to have to leave Sookie on the USS Bainbridge the day after her rescue. After she had received her phone calls of well wishes from the President, she called and spoke to her boss to say that she was okay. We stayed up all night long catching up on each other's lives as much as we could. We were as comfortable with each other as if twenty years hadn't passed by at all. My team had to leave the next day to return to our training drills in Kenya. We exchanged contact information and promised to keep in touch with each other, but as I watched her standing on the deck as our helicopter rose up into the sky, the sight of her tears was almost more than I could bear. I had seriously contemplated jumping out of the door and into the ocean just so I could wipe the tears from her eyes and give her one last hug.

Now that I knew where she lived and that she still wanted to be with me, it made my decision on where to live when I retired from the Navy that much simpler. I only had six more weeks until I could start my terminal leave and I already had a job offer lined up with the Department of Homeland Security in New York City. If I believed in such things I would've thought fate and destiny were pushing us together.

Sookie emailed me every day, and I called or wrote back whenever I could. It was hard to believe, but I missed her more now than I did when I left for basic training. From the time I first saw her face on that god-awful lifeboat she instantly became the single most important thing in my life. My every thought was of her. I didn't even care when the guys in my platoon gave me shit about it either, calling me lover boy and pussy-whipped, because I knew it was true. I was still in love with her, of that I had no doubt. And I knew that I would do anything she asked of me, not because of the phenomenal sex, but because I wanted to spend the rest of my life making her happy.

So, with that in mind, I put to work the strategizing skills the Navy had taught me, and came up with a plan of action to make her mine once more.

**SPOV**

I walked around in a daze for weeks after I saw Eric. I'd gone on to Mozambique for the two weeks I had been scheduled to be there before going back home to New York at the beginning of May. I emailed Eric every day and was ridiculously happy whenever he was able to call or email me back. I knew I was still in love with him. I had been for the majority of my life. I didn't say the words to him though and neither did he. I didn't want the first time (again) I told him I loved him to be in an email or over the phone. I was also afraid to tell him because I didn't know how he felt. I didn't want scare him away with declarations of love so soon after having him in my life again. He told me he had a job offer in the city and had decided to take it. I had high hopes we would be able to resume our previous relationship and decided I would wait and see where it went from there.

I received an email from Eric the week I got home saying that he was going somewhere where he wouldn't have access to a phone or computer for a few weeks, but he would be in New York during the last week of May and would email me with the details as soon as he was able to. I was so excited I actually jumped up and down in my apartment clapping my hands and squealing like a teenage girl at the 'Twilight' premier.

I called and made an appointment with my OB/GYN to get a depo provera shot knowing it would take about three weeks to be effective. I had used it before when I was with Bill and didn't have any side effects from it like I had with birth control pills. At the doctor's office they took routine blood and urine samples and I was waiting in the exam room wearing the horrible paper gown when the doctor came in. I almost passed out when she told me that she wouldn't be able to give me the shot. I was pregnant.

I went home with my list of pregnancy Do's and Don'ts and a bottle of prenatal vitamins and sat on my couch wondering what was going to happen now. How would Eric react to this news? Would he be happy? Would he feel trapped? Would he stay with me, not because he loved me, but because he thought it was the right thing to do? Placing my hand on my still flat stomach I knew that I would be having this baby with or without him. I already loved it.

I received an email from Eric on the last Tuesday of the month asking me to meet him at Pier 88 on 48th Street and the West Side Highway at noon the next day. That was all it said. I took a personal day from work and jumped in a cab heading to the pier wearing a white summer dress that was covered in small red flowers. I figured I would wear it now while I still could. My stomach was in knots because I was so nervous. I didn't know what to say to him. I was afraid that as soon as I told him the news he would take off and I would never see him again. I knew, logically, he wouldn't do that, but I was afraid nonetheless.

I had been so caught up in my own personal drama I had been oblivious to what had been going on around the city, so I was surprised when I got out of the cab down by the pier to see all of the commotion. It was Fleet Week. There were decorations and flags and people everywhere. The parade of ships had just ended and the sailors were starting to come down the ramp. I made my way to the front and spotted him the minute he stepped onto the ramp.

Not only was he taller than everyone else, while the rest of the sailors were wearing white uniforms with either the short sleeves or the ones that reminded me of Popeye, he was wearing his white summer dress uniform.

He had on a white jacket with five gold buttons down the center over white slacks that showcased his tan clean-shaven face perfectly. The high collar had identical pins on each side of a golden anchor and rope with USN across the middle. There were various pins and medals over his left chest pocket and a blue nametag above his right. His hair was pulled back at the nape of his neck under his white hat with a black bill that had another golden anchor pin in the front center matching those on his lapel.

I was frozen in the spot I was standing in and the closer he got to me the more I seemed to sway. I took a huge breath realizing I had been unknowingly holding it in. His entire face was lit up with a giant grin with his eyes never leaving mine until his arms were finally around me and he pulled me into a kiss. His lips were soft but demanding and I found myself wrapping around him deepening it even further, not caring who was around us. I needed this kiss now, not sure if it would be our last.

He pulled away first, still smiling saying "I've really missed you."

"I missed you too." I knew I was putting off the inevitable, but I selfishly wanted to spend time with him before my news would change everything.

He grabbed onto my hand and starting pulling me away from the crowds and towards the street. I went along with him and was confused when we stopped next to a red corvette parked along the sidewalk. Another sailor was waiting there and held out the keys to Eric. He smiled at the two of us and walked away without saying a single word.

Eric opened the passenger door and motioned for me to get in. After shutting my door he got in on the driver's side. He started the car and hit a few buttons on the GPS before pulling away from the curb and taking my hand in his.

I looked at him confused asking, "Whose car is this? Where are we going?"

He looked over at me and was still wearing his big grin answering, "This is my car. I had it in storage down in Virginia and got my buddy to get it out and drive it up here for me." He then pulled my hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it. "And, where we're going is a surprise." I noticed he seemed to be nervous, but my own nerves kept me from calling him out on it.

I tried to relax and just sat there staring at him as he drove. The radio was on and neither one of us said anything. I just wanted to commit his face to memory now before everything turned upside down. I vaguely registered us crossing over the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey, but I couldn't take my eyes away from him. My hormones were all over the place and I was skittish as hell on the verge of tears. The dam finally broke and they streamed down my face as I choked out a sob.

Eric looked over at me alarmed. "Sookie, what's wrong?"

I couldn't answer him because whenever I tried the sobs came out harder. He pulled up to a curbed sidewalk and turned off the car. He cupped my face in his hands and leaned forward kissing the tears away. After the sobbing slowed to just a few sporadic hiccups he tried again. "Lover, what's wrong?"

Hearing him calling me _lover_ set off a new round of sobs. He pulled me into a hug and rubbed soothing circles on my back waiting for them to subside. Once they did he tried a different question. "What has you so upset?" His eyebrows were furrowed with concern.

I sucked in some air and just let it all spill out. "Oh Eric. I've missed you so much and not just during the last six weeks, but for the last twenty years. I'm in love with you. I've never stopped loving you. And everything's going to change and I'm afraid you're going to leave me once I tell you what's wrong."

His features became frozen. He looked at me without any emotion and asked, "Is there someone else? Have you been with someone else since I last saw you?"

More sobs racked through my body as I choked out, "NO! How could you even THINK that? I just TOLD you I'm STILL in LOVE with YOU!" I couldn't stop my body from shaking and his face softened once more as he pulled me back into a hug.

"Sshhh….Sookie, whatever it is, we can work through it." He pulled back to look me in the eyes. "I love you too. I always have."

I looked at him wanting desperately to believe him. It was now or never. "I'm pregnant."

He sat there looking at me too stunned to say anything. When he let go of me and got out of the car I couldn't help curling into a ball in the seat, burying my face into my knees as I cried even harder. I didn't hear it when he opened the passenger door. I didn't feel it when he released the seat belt that was holding me in.

I did feel it when he took my hands and pulled me out of the car. I stood on the sidewalk barely able to see through the tears still streaming down my face. He gently cupped my face wiping them from my eyes and when I was able to focus on him once more I watched as he got down on bended knee in front of me.

I couldn't help holding my breath when he said, "Sookie Stackhouse. From the moment I first saw you, crying on the side of the road when you were seven years old, I knew you held my heart. I've loved you from that moment on. And now, twenty-eight years later, looking at you crying on the side of the road, I'm still in love with you. Even after twenty years without you near, it never diminished. And now that I've found my way back to you I never want to let you go. I want to spend the rest of my life showing you each and every day how much I love you. This gift you're giving me, our child, is one I never imagined I would receive and it only makes me love you more." Pulling out a ring box from his pocket he opened it up and asked, "Will you marry me?"

Now I was stunned. I kept looking back and forth from the ring to him and back again. He couldn't be doing this just because I was pregnant if he already had the ring in his pocket. He really does love me. He wants to marry me because he loves me. I couldn't help crying again when I answered, "Yes Eric. Yes I'll marry you."

He slipped the ring onto my left hand and kissed it before standing and pulling me into his arms giving me a toe curling kiss. I molded my body around his wishing desperately that we were somewhere private so I could rip his uniform off. I finally managed to pull away and said, "Let's go somewhere private so we can celebrate."

The lopsided grin I love so much came across his face and he said, "How about right here?" I looked around and saw that we were on some residential street in a suburb somewhere.

"Eric! I'm not going to have sex with you on a sidewalk." I turned to open the car door when he pulled me back to him. He turned me to face the house we were parked in front of. It was a two story colonial with white siding and black shutters framing every window with beautiful flowerbeds surrounding the house and flowerboxes under each window. A long asphalt driveway led to a two-car detached garage and I could make out an in-ground swimming pool in the backyard. The front yard had a white picket fence and a realtor sign that said 'Sold'.

I looked up at him in disbelief. "Whose house is this?"

He grinned wider. "Ours." He led me to the front door where he unlocked it with a key from his key ring. Before I could step inside he scooped me up in his arms and carried me in bridal style. He continued to walk without putting me down, carrying me up the stairs and into what I assumed to be the master bedroom where he put me down on a huge bed.

When I looked at him questioningly he smiled saying, "I saw it online and thought it was perfect for us. I arranged everything over the internet and when my buddy brought up my car he also brought up my furniture that was in storage too. We can buy new stuff if you want, I just wanted the bed to be here today." I just stared at him unable to say anything. He looked worried and asked, "You're not mad are you? Was I acting too high-handed? We don't have to live here if you don't like it."

I was never more grateful for his high-handedness than at that very moment. I sat up on my knees on the bed and proceeded to devour his mouth with mine. My hands wandered over his chest before opening each button of his jacket and sliding it off of his arms. I quickly pulled the hem of his undershirt out of pants and lifted it up and over his head. I stopped for a moment to take in his bare chest in front of me. My fingers traced each and every line of every muscle before me while he stood still letting me have my way. His nipples pebbled at my touch and I leaned forward taking one in my mouth, swirling my tongue around it before sucking it between my teeth and lightly biting down.

His hips bucked forward as he gasped and grabbed onto the back of my head holding it in place. When I reached down and stroked his erection through the tented fabric of his pants he growled and pulled my lips back to his crushing them with his own. I felt his hands reach around and unzip my dress as I pushed the straps down my arms letting it fall around my waist. He licked his way down to my breasts swirling his tongue over each of them until I thought I would die if he wasn't in me soon. I pulled away and pulled my dress up and over my head tossing it on the floor before lying back in the middle of the bed wearing nothing more than a sheer red thong holding on to his hand trying to pull him down on top of me. He quickly rid himself of the rest of his clothing and climbed on the bed, pausing to kiss my stomach on his way up my body whispering, "Hi baby. I love you little one." I blinked back the tears from his fatherly display as he continued up my body being careful to keep his weight on his arms and legs. He kissed me again, slowly, tracing my lips with his tongue before exploring inside of my mouth. He placed his cock at my entrance and slowly rubbed me through the fabric. I wrapped my legs around his waist pushing my hips against his and I literally felt like I would explode if he wasn't in me right now.

I begged him, "PLEASE Eric. I NEED you inside of me. PLEASE…" I felt him smile against my lips as his hands trailed down slipping into the side of my thong testing my readiness with his fingers. I knew I was already dripping wet and as he removed his hand he ripped my thong off at the same time and plunged into me. My back arched and I screamed out as I came immediately, my whole body convulsing around him. He thrust in and out of me slowly while looking into my eyes drawing out my orgasm. He leaned down and kissed me again. His voice dropped an octave and he said, "I think you've got another one of those in there. Let's see if I can find it." As his speed increased I could feel another orgasm building and watched as Eric's eyes narrowed even more as he was getting close too. He reached down in between our bodies and found my clit rubbing it in circles while he said, "Come for me lover. Come for me NOW!" He thrust into me harder than ever as every muscle in his body tensed and we came at the same time screaming each other's names.

_Present Day_

I heard the patio door slide open and felt his arms wrap around me from behind. I leaned into his chest as he lovingly caressed my swollen belly. He kissed the back of my head before saying, "I hope that's decaf you're drinking." I nodded my reply and he kissed the side of my neck asking, "How are my two favorite girls this morning?" I turned around in his arms mockingly glared at him saying, "YOUR daughter decided to kick me awake early this morning." He smiled before lowering his lips to my belly chastising, "That wasn't very nice young lady. You need to let mommy sleep." He raised back up and kissed me still able to make my toes curl after all of this time, until we were interrupted by the sound of "Eewww….mommy and daddy are kissing again." We broke apart to see our two sons that had been standing in the open doorway scamper back to the cartoons playing on the television. Smiling at each other Eric took me by the hand and looked down at me, his eyes sparkling with the love he had for all of us saying, "I never would've imagined…" As he led me back into the house I agreed, I never would've imagined.

***sniff sniff* I hope that was enough of a Happily Ever After for everyone. If not, the only thing I could think of adding were some unicorns and rainbows. The next story I have in mind is probably going to be a LONG one because it'll require a lot of back story before ESN is acceptable, but I'll try to have it posted as soon as possible. Show a girl some review love because now I've got to go swab the deck and clean the head.**


	5. Jump

**A/N: I forgot to say in Chapters 3 and 4 that Navy SEAL Eric was written by request of Vane3131. *applauds her* This chapter was written because of a request by my fellow Jersey girl Cretin. *cyber fist bump* Ladies and gentlemen (if there are any guys that are reading this), may I introduce to you, Lieutenant Eric Northman, United States Army, Easy Company, 506****th**** Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4****th**** Brigade Combat Team, 101****st**** Airborne Division, circa 1944. Warning: There are small portions of this story written in French & German (I put the English translation in parenthesis next to it). I used Google translator because the most French I speak is of the 'fry' variety. Oh, and my pet bunny is named Licorice, but I call him Monsieur Bun-Bun. As for German, does Heineken count? I apologize if Google sucks, because I'm too ignorant to know the difference.**

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns them all. I'm just making Eric jump out of an airplane! (He can fly, right?)**

_They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;  
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.  
At the going down of the sun and in the morning  
We will remember them. _

- Laurence Binyon, "For the Fallen"

Jump

**SPOV**

_June 6__th__, 1994 0900 hours_

I feel his grip on my hand tighten. I know how difficult it is for him to return after all of these years, but it's important to him to see it one last time. I can't help but to stare at his profile as the car winds down the country road. His hair is mostly silver now, but I can still see strands of blonde here and there. His profile is still strong and his jaw line squared, even if his features have sagged somewhat with age. The scar beneath his right eye is nothing more than a barely visible silver line in his otherwise perfect face. I squeeze his hand in return and when he looks over at me the corners of his mouth twitch up ever so slightly. After 50 years have passed, on this very day, I'm still enthralled by him. We each face forward again and I know each of us is remembering that day.

**EPOV**

_June 5__th__, 1944 2200 hours_

I can't help but to pace back and forth, my body full of adrenaline. I try to calm down knowing I need to save my energy for the paces we'll be put through in the next hours and days. I light a cigarette and look up at the full moon in the sky remembering the line my first commander, Major General William C. Lee spoke to us almost two years earlier. "_The 101__st__ Airborne Division, activated at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, has no history, but it has a rendezvous with destiny. Like the early American pioneers whose invincible courage was the foundation stone of this nation, we have broken with the past and its traditions in order to establish our claim to the future."_ It really was a lot of trial and error then since we were literally the first airborne division in the US. Looking around at my fellow soldiers now, remembering all of our previous missions, I'm confident we will prevail.

We were all told of our mission only hours earlier, dubbed _Operation Chicago_. We, the 101st, would lead the way on D-Day with night drops prior to the invasion. Our division's main objectives were to secure the four causeway exits behind Utah Beach, destroy a German coastal artillery battery at Saint-Martin-de-Varreville, and capture numerous other buildings and command posts before ultimately meeting up with the 82nd Airborne at Les Forges. Tonight's full moon meant the spring tide would rise helping the sea-landing forces arriving on the beaches of Normandy tomorrow.

I and 26 other paratroopers climbed aboard what had been nicknamed the Gooney Bird, a C-47 Skytrain airplane destined for Drop Zone C. All of us were nervous as we sat, not talking. The noise of the propellers would have made it impossible to hear anyway. In an effort to distract myself I attempted to recall any of the French I had learned in high school, but soon realized that was a lost cause.

At ten miles out we became subjected to intense antiaircraft fire. Our plane held steady at first but we were then blown to the right by the force of another C-47 exploding on our left. We heard the sounds of the left propeller being hit before it caught fire and died all together. We weren't over our drop zone yet, but as the plane started to veer downwards we all knew we had to jump now. Everyone was out of their seats and we jumped one by one. I was near the end of the line, pushing the lower ranked men in front of me. I had just made it out of the plane when it exploded in mid-air. I felt something sear across my face and was blinded by the explosion. I counted to 10 and when my vision didn't come back I had no choice but to pull the ripcord of my parachute not being able to see how far I was from the ground. I pulled on the risers in an attempt to steer my parachute, but it was useless because my vision still hadn't returned. I felt my knees give way when I hit the ground unprepared and blacked out.

**SPOV**

_June 6__th__, 1944 0100 hours_

The sound of the antiaircraft guns woke me from my sleep. Our farmhouse was only a few miles east of the Sainte Marie du Monte where the Germans that had infiltrated our region had set up their artillery. I was alone in the house. My mother had died giving birth to me and both my father and my brother were gone working with the French Resistance. The Germans had occupied France for four long years at that point. The coastal area had been declared a military zone and was off-limits to French civilians with the exception of the few of us locals that had remained in our homes, but we required a special pass. I knew something big was happening soon because of the messages playing on BBC's French service from London. Earlier in the evening I had heard the coded messages coming through on the radio. _Les carottes sont cuites _(The carrots are cooked) and _Les dés sont jetés _(The dice have been thrown).

As I lay there in bed listening to the gunfire I heard another noise, only this time, it was much closer. It sounded like a thud followed by moaning. Getting out of bed I put my robe on over my nightdress and tied it shut before going outside. A curfew had been established and without an _Ausweis _ (Authorization) it was forbidden to go out at night. The full moon was bright enough in the sky that I didn't have much trouble seeing out into the night. I only heard the moaning sounds sporadically so it took me a few minutes before I saw him. I cautiously walked forward and could see a very big man, lying on the ground with his legs underneath him and a parachute billowing next to him still attached at his shoulders. His helmet wasn't sitting on his head properly and his reddened face looked as though it had been severely sunburned with a two inch gash underneath his right eye that was bleeding profusely.

As I got even closer I could see from his uniform that he was an American. I quickly looked around to make sure there wasn't anyone coming. I was far enough away from my neighbors that we couldn't be seen, but I knew if the Germans found him here they would take him away, if not worse. I ran back into the house and came back with a knife that I used to cut him free from the parachute. I gathered it quickly and ran back to the house leaving it in a pile just inside the door. Running to him once more I gently straightened his legs feeling them for any obvious breaks. When I couldn't find any I crouched behind him hooking my arms underneath his armpits and pulled him towards the house.

_He must weigh a ton_ I thought. I was stronger than most young women from growing up on a farm. Even though the majority of the farm work became a thing of the past with the German invasion, I still baked loaves of bread and the occasional pies using the blueberries from the few bushes scattered around the house that I secretly sold in town to make ends meet, so the muscles in my arms got a daily workout. The fear of getting caught helped to fuel my adrenaline and we made it into the farmhouse in less time than I would've imagined.

After making sure the door was locked and the shutters were closed I lit a few candles so I could tend to his injuries. He had stopped moaning and I would've been more concerned if I didn't see the rise and fall of his chest. Now he only appeared to be sleeping, even thought I knew that wasn't the case. I took off my robe and balled it up to use as a pillow for him before carefully removing his helmet. His hair was the same shade of blonde as mine. I grabbed a couple of rags and wet them before I attempted to clean his face. While using one to hold over his cut I applied pressure to get the bleeding to stop, and used the other to clean the trails of blood from his face and neck. I couldn't help but notice how handsome he was. All of his facial features were perfectly symmetrical and he had a well defined jaw and prominent cheekbones. I gently went over the burns on his face, but they didn't appear too bad. The skin wasn't blistered or broken open. After 20 minutes the gash still hadn't stopped bleeding so I knew he needed stitches. I'd sewn up a few cuts on both my father and my brother over the years, but it still made me a little squeamish.

I opened my sewing basket and took out a needle and some thread, wiping them down with some vodka I had gotten out of the cellar. I carefully poured water over his wound and then a little vodka hoping the alcohol would kill off any germs. I knew it would've stung, so when he didn't flinch at all, I carefully sewed his wound shut without worrying it would cause him more pain. I broke off a stem from an aloe plant sitting in my kitchen window and spread the moisture dripping from the stem over his burns.

With that done I looked him over thinking he should be laying in a bed and not on the floor in my front room. I remembered, again, the hidden messages that _The dice has been thrown _and his arrival proved it was true. Something big was going to be happening soon and I was afraid for either of us to stay out in the open while it happened.

My father had turned the cellar into an underground hideaway before he left, covering the original opening with floorboards and making a hidden trapdoor that blended in with the floor and was only accessible through a bedroom closet. It was well stocked with candles and cans of soup and a mattress on the floor. I decided to take him down there and then would come back upstairs and carry down everything else we might need.

I went and opened the trapdoor making sure nothing would be in my way and then dragged him again, descending the stairs slowly so that only his boots bounced off the stairs and not his head. I almost lost my hold a few times and we both would've tumbled down but I managed to hold on. As I dragged him closer to the mattress I noticed that his uniform was covered in blood, soot, and mud. I knew I'd have to be the one to take it off of him since he was still unconscious, but I still blushed at the thought of having to do it. I was 19 years old and had, literally, never been kissed. I went back in forth in my mind, but my desire for HIM to be comfortable won out over MY desire to be comfortable.

I removed his boots first and would swear that I had never seen feet that big before. I looked at him again, seeing clearly now how tall he must be. I guessed he was close to two meters tall. I continued to strip him of his harness and utility belt and then his jacket. Since I knew I would have to roll him from side to side to get his arms out of the sleeves I left his jacket on while I unbuttoned his shirt so I could take them off at the same time.

I rolled him onto his back once his arms were finally free of his sleeves and took in what was in front of me. His chest was broad and I could see the outline of each of his chest and abdominal muscles through the tight t-shirt he wore. I suspected he might have had a difficult time finding clothing in his size that would fit properly. I was curious what his bare chest would look like but couldn't bring myself to sneak a peek. I could see the outline of his dog tags under his shirt and I pulled them out to see them. It said his name was _Eric Northman_.

"Eric Northman" I said out loud, and I jumped when he moaned again. _Oops!_ I wondered if he was coming around, but when several minutes had passed without him making another sound I decided I had stalled enough and started unbuckling his belt so I could remove his soiled pants.

I could feel the heat flush my cheeks as I unbuttoned his trousers. I gripped them on each side of his hips and shimmied them down, but ended up having to roll him once more to get them down to his thighs. I guessed that I had inadvertently been gripping his boxer shorts as well because when I gave them the final tug the waistband of his shorts slid down exposing the most glorious rear end I had ever seen. Well, technically, I hadn't seen ANY naked rear ends but I still doubted there were any others that could even match his much less beat it. I stared long enough for my morals kicked in and I quickly pulled his boxers back into place before rolling him onto his back and removing his pants all together.

I set his uniform in a corner of the cellar and went back upstairs to retrieve clean sheets. Once the mattress was covered I pulled him onto to the side closest to where he had been on the floor and propped a pillow underneath his head.

I couldn't help but stare at him again. He looked so peaceful and yet so vulnerable. I wondered what color his eyes were but I didn't dare try to see. I was worried about whatever injuries he might have sustained that I couldn't see from the outside and didn't want to cause any more damage.

I returned upstairs and gathered everything I thought we might need as well as some books and my sewing basket and two bolts of fabric to pass the time and took everything back down into the cellar, locking the trapdoor behind me. After I put everything away I felt the last of my energy leave me and it was replaced with exhaustion.

I looked at him lying on the mattress and then glanced around the rest of the cellar. The mattress was large enough that I could sleep next to him, but I was struggling internally over laying in a bed with a man that I didn't even know. The floor was cold and hard and the only other furniture down here was a small bistro table and two chairs. After spending at least a half hour trying to get comfortable in the hard chair I gave up and crawled onto the mattress beside him and fell asleep within minutes.

**EPOV**

_June 6__th__, 1944 0700 hours_

I woke up with a massive headache. I could hear gunfire in the distance and had no idea where I was. I slowly opened my eyes but couldn't see anything. I lifted my hands to my face feeling it with my fingertips. I could feel that my eyes were open but I could only see a blinding bright haze. The pain of it forced me to close them again. My whole face felt sore and I came across what felt like stitches underneath my right eye. I dropped my hands down and could feel that I was only wearing my t-shirt and boxers. I spread out further on the mattress I was laying on and my hand came across a body lying next to me.

My hand instantly shot back to my side and I said, "Hello? Who's there?" My throat was parched and my voice was scratchy.

"Mmm…" I heard next to me and I felt the movement of them turning over on the mattress and an arm draped across my chest. The voice sounded female and as I carefully ran my hand along the arm on my chest, it felt female.

I tapped on the foreign arm with my hand saying, "Uh, excuse me? Miss?" I knew my attempts to wake her were successful when I felt the arm disappear followed with, "Oh mon dieu! Vous êtes éveillé!" (Oh my God! You're awake!)

_Shit, I knew I should have paid attention in French class_. "Uh…parlez –vous…uh, English?"

I was relieved when she answered, "Oh, of course. I am sorry Monsieur Northman. How do you feel?"

"My head hurts, and I can't see anything. Who are you? Where am I?"

"My name is Sookie. You're in my house. Actually, my cellar."

I felt the mattress move as she got up and heard the sound of liquid being poured into a glass. I then felt her hands touch mine and she said, "Are you able to sit up? You need to drink some water and I have aspirin for you as well."

I instinctively opened my eyes again and was blinded once more. I reached up covering my eyes with my hands grunting, "Aahh.." When that pain subsided I pushed myself up while keeping my eyes closed and felt her place the glass in one hand and two pills in the other. I gratefully swallowed everything and felt her hand on mine again before removing the glass from my grasp.

"Would you like for me to wrap some fabric around your head to help keep your eyes closed for now?" she asked.

I nodded and then asked, "How did I get here? What happened to me?"

As she wrapped a soft piece of cloth around my eyes she explained how she heard me hit the ground outside of her home the night before and found me about thirty meters away. She dragged me inside and took care of my wounds before dragging me down into her hidden cellar so I wouldn't be caught by the Germans. She said she'd heard the coded messages on the radio about something happening soon and my presence confirmed that so she hid us both underneath her house.

I listened as she talked and came to the quick realization this woman saved my life. I don't know how she was able to drag me anywhere, given my size, much less ninety feet over the ground, into her house and then down into her cellar. She must be freakishly strong.

I was roused from my thoughts by, "Monsieur Northman? Did you hear me?"

"Please, call me Eric. What were you saying?"

"I asked if you remember how you came to be injured?"

I told her everything I remembered and then realized that today was V-Day. I had no idea what happened to the rest of my regiment and I knew the sea-landing invasion would be going on right now. I could still hear the gunfire in the distance, but I'd been hearing it for months now so it was almost like background noise.

Panicked, I asked, "How far are we from Normandy? It might not be safe for you here."

"We're a few kilometers away. And I've been as safe as possible here for a while now. No one will find us down here. You can't see and I'm not leaving. There's nowhere else for us to go so we'll just have to wait it out."

Her voice was completely calm with no trace of fear whatsoever. I sat there in awe of her. Not only was she strong enough to rescue me, she's brave and loyal as well. I'd never met any other woman like her.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question?" I asked. When she said I could I followed up with, "How old are you?" I figured she must be older, maybe old enough to have a son off fighting in the war. Maybe that was why she was alone with enough life experience to not be scared by it.

She paused before answering, "I am 19 years old. And you Monsieur Northman? I mean, Eric?"

_19?_ Huh. "I'm 22."

For the next two days we stayed in her cellar talking non-stop as the fire fight in the distance waged on. I lifted the blindfold and tried opening my eyes every now and then, but all I could see was the bright haze. I told her all about growing up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania and being a paratrooper in the army. She had me describe all of the different places I'd seen like she was trying to see them herself through my words. She told me about her family and how she came to be alone here and I found I was falling in love with the sound of her voice. Whenever she laughed it was like soft wind chimes on beautiful spring day. I wondered to myself if it was possible to fall in love with someone you've never even seen. Then I thought it must be as there are blind people out there in the world, I just never thought about it until now.

I was surprised on the evening of the second day when she slipped a shirt over my arms. I'd had no idea but she had been sewing it together while we talked, and had even made a pair of trousers for me as well. She explained how my uniform was covered in blood and mud. I was touched by her thoughtfulness beyond words. They fit me perfectly.

I felt her sit next to me on the mattress as she checked over the fit of my new clothes but I held onto her hand before she could stand up again saying, "Thank you. You didn't have to do this." She didn't have to do ANY of it, yet she did. If she was caught by the Germans hiding me she would be imprisoned at the least. I didn't want to think about what they would do to her at the worst.

I felt her free hand glide over my face and my wound. "How do you feel? Does it still hurt?" The last thing I felt was pain as her hand stayed on my face. "No, it doesn't hurt" I whispered. I trailed my free hand up her arm to her shoulder and up to her face. Her skin was so soft. I slowly ran my fingers across her face, trying to 'see' her with my touch. She held perfectly still, her hand still on my face, and when I traced over her lips she kissed my fingertip. I wove my fingers into the hair at the back of her head and slowly pulled her face to mine. When our lips finally met I felt a spark run through my body.

Her hand left my face and gripped the back of my head as she slipped her tongue into my mouth and deepened our kiss. I felt my growing arousal below and I let go of her hand and placed it on her back pulling her body closer to mine. When I felt her hardened nipples against my chest I couldn't help moaning. It felt like my body was on fire anywhere her body touched mine. When I felt her hands unbuttoning the shirt she had just put on me I felt like I had to stop her now before I lost all self-control.

Stilling her hands with mine I asked, "Are you sure Sookie? It's okay if we stop now, or we could just kiss for a while. I don't want you to go any further if you don't want to."

She paused for a few moments and I wished I could see whatever expressions were going across her face just then because I was literally in the dark. I had to strain to hear her when she softly said, "I've never done this before. But, I want to now. I want to with you."

A moment later I felt her lips tentatively touch mine and as our kiss became more heated her hands resumed taking off my shirt. I held myself back from running my hands all over her body in case she ended up changing her mind until she swung her leg over both of mine and sat in my lap never breaking our kiss. She felt tiny and I again wondered how she was able to drag me through the field, but when she rubbed her heated center over my straining erection and I lost whatever self-control I'd had. I growled into her mouth as my hands ran up the sides of her body underneath her shirt to her breasts. She wasn't wearing a bra and I could tell she was well endowed_._ As soon as my hands made contact she gasped and arched forward into my hands. I felt when she removed her shirt and I leaned forward towards my hand until I finally latched on to her nipple. She whimpered as I slowly swirled my tongue over and around her areola before sucking into my mouth and flicking the tip with my tongue.

I kissed and licked my way across her chest to her other breast and gave it the same treatment. Her hands traced over my chest before raking her fingernails down my front. She then held my head in place at her breast as she moaned and whimpered with each flick of my tongue and used the other hand to stroke me through my pants. When she unbuttoned them and then wrapped her hand around the base of my cock I couldn't help bucking up into her hand groaning in pleasure at the sensation.

I pulled her lips back to mine and devoured her mouth as she continued to stroke me. I slipped one of my hands into her waistband over her mound of curls and felt that she was dripping wet. I trailed my fingers through the moisture along her slit before slipping one inside of her. She cried out in pleasure and bucked into my hand. I added a second finger and placed my thumb over her bundle of nerves rubbing them with each thrust of my fingers. The rhythm of her hand on my cock faltered as I felt her inner walls spasm around my fingers and when I latched onto her breast with my mouth again she tumbled over the edge, her muscles gripping my fingers like a vice and screaming out, "Oh mon dieu! ERIC!"

I continued rubbing slow circles over her clit and her body jerked uncontrollably from the sensation. She said, "Je veux plus" (I want more) and then lifted off of my lap as she tugged on my pants. When I figured out what she was trying to do I laid back in the bed and lifted my hips so she could get them off, chuckling inside that Sookie didn't remember to speak English when she was in Sexy Sookie mode. My internal chuckle turned into an external groan when she straddled my lap again and placed her entrance over my tip, pushing down slowly at first and gasping once her maidenhead tore free. I held her hips with my hands, allowing her to set her own pace once her body adjusted to mine. She rocked up and down my length, gradually increasing her pace and I felt her walls tighten around me as she was approaching her next orgasm. I slid my hand back to her center and flicked over her clit with my fingers and she screamed out again as her orgasm rocked through her body. I grabbed her hips with both hands again lifting her up and thrusting my hips up as I brought her back down over and over until I came with a roar deep inside of her.

Eventually Sookie moved to lie beside me on the mattress and tucked herself into my side. I ran my fingers through the long locks of her hair and knew she had fallen asleep as I listened to her breathing even out. I knew then that I had fallen in love with her. It made no difference to me what she looked like because I knew how beautiful she was on the inside. I fell asleep hoping she might feel the same.

I woke up a while later. Not being able to see, I had no idea if it was still night time or the next day. I felt around the mattress and found my boxers as well as the fact that I was lying there alone. I pulled them on and I was just about to call out to her when I heard a crash upstairs. Men were screaming in German and I heard Sookie cry out, "NO!" followed by the sound of flesh hitting flesh.

I jumped up and tried to find the stairs. I tripped over something and fell to my knees but I kept crawling and feeling my way along the floor desperate to get to her. I found the stairs moments later, but as I made my way up I heard gunshots and the sound of a body hitting the floor. I climbed up the stairs as fast as I could, throwing the trapdoor open yelling out "SOOKIE!".

**SPOV**

_June 9__th__, 1944 0730 hours_

I woke up with Eric's body wrapped around mine. Everything had happened so fast, but even though we'd only known each other for a few days I knew I wanted to be with him forever. I blushed thinking of the night before. I hoped he had feelings for me too and didn't think any less of me for giving myself to him so soon.

I peeled myself out of Eric's embrace and put my clothes on. I looked down at him sleeping peacefully and thought I could happily stare at him forever. I'd been doing just that for days using his, hopefully temporary, blindness to my advantage. I had memorized every feature of his face, every line of his muscles, the curve of his mouth. I still didn't know what color his eyes were, but it made no difference to me. He was beautiful inside and out. As my eyes trailed over his now naked form I planned on trying to memorize this view as well while I had the opportunity, but when I looked down between his legs I saw that parts of him, as well as the sheet beneath him, held traces of blood.

I blushed again knowing it happened when I gave him my virginity. I had never seen a naked man before, but even with my lack of knowledge of such things I knew he had to be on the large end of the scale in that department.

I quietly made my way upstairs to get fresh linens for the bed making sure I closed the trapdoor. I went into the kitchen to get another aloe leaf for Eric's face when two German soldiers kicked in my front door yelling.

"_Schnell! Die Amerikaner kommen! Wir warden hier zu verstecken!" _(Quickly! The Americans are coming! We'll hide in here!)

I stood frozen in shock with the aloe leaf in my hand. The one nearest the door looked down and saw Eric's parachute still balled up where I had left it and my heart sank. He picked it up inspecting it and the realization must have dawned on him that it wasn't one of theirs. His head whipped around and stopped when he saw me standing there.

"_Wo hast du das? Versteckst du dich hier ein US-amerikanischer? Wo ist er?"_ (Where did you get this? Are you hiding an American here? Where is he?)

I had learned some German over the last four years and could tell they were asking about Eric. I shook my head no, but made no sound, praying that Eric would stay where he was.

The second soldier strode over to me quickly yelling, "_Antwort ihm! Wo versteckst du die Amerikaner?" _(Answer him! Where are you hiding the American?)

I screamed out, "NO!" They would not get to Eric. I would not betray him no matter what they did to me. I stood firm when he backhanded me across my face. He kept yelling the same phrase over and over and grabbed me by my hair shaking me. I yelled out from the pain but the sound of a gunshot halted my scream. The soldier that had been holding me let go of my hair as he fell to the floor, dead of a gunshot wound to his head. I looked over at the door and could see the other soldier lying in a heap on the floor with blood pouring out of a large gash across the front of his neck. Behind him were two American soldiers, one pointing a rifle and the other holding a bloody knife.

I heard the sound of the trapdoor being flung open and Eric yelling out, "SOOKIE!" The Americans heard it too and started defensively moving toward the bedroom. I ran behind them screaming, "NO! DON'T SHOOT HIM! HE'S AMERICAN!"

I pushed my way passed them and got to Eric first shielding him from them with my body in case they didn't hear me. Eric wrapped himself around me yelling, "Sookie! Are you alright? What happened?"

I helped him the rest of the way up and told him everything. The Americans asked Eric questions to make sure he was who he claimed to be and I showed them his dog tags and uniform. I got the shirt and trousers I had made for him from the cellar and helped dress him as more American's arrived. We learned that the American's had taken control of the area away from the German's and were making their way towards Paris. An officer amongst the group ordered Eric to leave with them so he could get medical treatment. We clung to each other until he finally had to go. Eric leaned down and whispered in my ear, "I promise Sookie, I'll come back for you."

The tears were streaming down my face as I watched them drive away with him. "_Je t'aime Eric,_" I whispered, "_rester en sécurité."_ (I love you Eric, stay safe.)

_September 1__st__, 1945 1100 hours_

I walked down the road carrying the basket of breads and pies I had made to sell in town. My thoughts were of Eric, like they had been for the last year. The war in Europe had been over for almost four months now and Japan had surrendered two weeks ago, but I still hadn't heard from him. My only wish was that he was safe and healthy. I knew I wouldn't live a truly happy life without him but I could at least live a peaceful life if I knew he was okay.

I dropped off the basket of goods at a local shop where the owner would sell my breads and pies only taking a small percentage to keep for himself and giving me the rest. Everything had slowly started to return to normal in the last year as people made their way back to their homes. I saved one loaf of bread and brought it with me to trade with a fruit and vegetable street vendor.

I looked over everything on the cart and was filling my basket with apples when I heard "Sookie?" behind me. I felt my heart thud and I held my breath as I turned around and the first thing I thought was _they're blue._

**EPOV**

_September 1__st__ , 1945 1000 hours_

I walked into the center of town on a mission. This was the tenth one in the last two weeks I've come to looking for Sookie. Everything had happened so fast when I was taken away from her that it didn't occur to me until I was already gone that I didn't know her last name or the town or village she lived in. I only knew she was within a few kilometers of Normandy. It turns out there are a lot of towns within a few kilometers of Normandy and so far, no one I talked to knew of a girl named Sookie.

My sight returned within a few days of leaving her house and later that same week I was sent to fight with the rest of my regiment in Carentan. We were returned to England 33 days later and were then sent out again during a daytime drop into Holland for _Operation Market Garden_ where we helped capture and secure four of the five bridges intact including the key bridge across the Rhine River at Arnhem.

It seemed like that was barely done when we were ordered by General Eisenhower on December 16th into the Belgium town of Bastogne. Our mission was to keep the Germans from gaining access to its important crossroads, but with only two days notice, we were short on ammunition, food, weapons, men, and winter clothing. We were encircled immediately and our regiment was sent forward into the towns of Noville and Foy to stall the Germans while the other regiments set up defenses. A third of our battalion was lost but we took out 30 enemy tanks and inflicted 500-1000 casualties. A supply drop on December 22nd helped, but the 506th stayed on the line and spearheaded the entire offensive that led to the eventual liberation of Foy and Noville in January.

We were pulled off the line at the end of February and then sent back out in early April to assist in the encirclement of Ruhr Pocket and the capture of Berchtesgaden and then went on to Zell am See, Austria where we took up occupational duties. We began training again to be redeployed into the Pacific Theater but the war ended before that could happen.

A lot of good men were lost. A lot of them I considered my brothers. Our victory made me believe they didn't die in vain. I'd been through a lot over the last few years, but if I didn't find Sookie I don't think I'd ever be able to recover. She'd saved me that night and I knew I needed her to save me once more. She was in my every thought, my every dream. The image of her was always hazy since I had never actually seen her, but her voice and her touch were seared into my memory. I couldn't help but think of her every time I looked at my reflection and saw the scar underneath my right eye that she had stitched up for me. I carried the shirt and trousers she'd made for me in my rucksack all over Europe. They were the only things I had from her.

I'd just walked into a shop and noticed the owner putting out fresh loaves of breads and pies into the display case. I'd remembered Sookie telling me she made the same things and sold them in town. Could I be that lucky?

Crossing my fingers I asked, _"Escusez-moi monsieur, Connaissez-vous une fille nommée Sookie?" _(Excuse me sir, do you know a girl named Sookie?) I'd practiced that particular phrase a lot over the last two weeks. I only hoped I would be able to decipher any answer I'd get besides, 'No'.

He looked at me warily taking in my dusty uniform. He nodded his head responding, "_Oui". _(yes)

I wanted to pick him up and spin him around screaming for joy. Please dear God let him know where she is. _"Parlez-vous anglais?" _(Do you speak English?) When he nodded I continued, "Do you know where I can find her?"

He looked me over again and I hoped I would pass whatever checklist he was ticking off in his head that would get him to answer my question. After what felt like forever he moved from behind the display case and motioned for me to follow him outside. He looked up and down the street before pointing to a blond woman standing at a fruit and vegetable cart down the street. He said something else but I took off running at her without hearing him. She was wearing a floral sundress and her long blond hair fell in waves down her back.

I slowed my run to a walk and came to a stop directly behind her. "Sookie?"

When she turned around I saw the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on standing before me. Her hair was the same color blond as mine and her eyes were the same color blue as the summer sky. She gasped and tears started running down her face asking, "Eric?"

I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her with everything I had. When she pulled away to breathe I held her close to my body begging, "Please forgive me for being gone so long. I came back as soon as I could. I love you Sookie. " I pulled her chin up to look into her eyes. "I love you."

_June 6__th__, 1994 1000 hours_

As I walk towards the lawn of the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial I notice the pink granite slab covering a time capsule with sealed news reports of the June 6th, 1994 Normandy landings. It is engraved with: _To be opened June 6, 2044_. Sookie squeezes my hand again to let me know she sees it too. I know that we'll be long gone before that day comes but I look over at my sons walking behind us holding their sons' hands in theirs and hope that at least one of them might be present to witness it. I know the toll that was taken during this war was high and a part of me wished it never occurred, but when I look over at Sookie I can't help but being thankful for that jump on that fateful night that brought me to her door.

**I hope you all didn't get bored with all of the war facts. Everything (with the exception of the Eric/Sookie portion of this story) is factual according to Wikipedia. From the 506****th**** (The story "Band of Brothers" is of the 506****th****) and timelines, et al. I know I've been doing mostly military stories, but the next one I'm switching things up a bit. I also had another idea of a one shot, but it involves more of an occupation rather than a uniform. Does it matter to you guys? If not, that one will be chapter 7. I'll just throw out the following for you to get an idea…**_**pool boy, ski instructor, masseuse. **_**Let me know what you think!**


	6. YES

**A/N: Once upon a time, I attempted to extort you all for reviews in order to get a HEA for SEAL Eric. Symphonic Poem, knowing my weakness for pinstripes, offered me a Yankee on top in exchange for the HEA. We share a mutual love of the NY Yankees so I got to thinking, Eric Northman, NY Yankee? When I posed the question to her I believe her reply was something along the lines of, "OMFG! *FLAILS ABOUT MADLY* Best uniform everrrrrr…" or something like that. Hopefully the rest of you can appreciate the thought of Eric's ass in baseball pants. If not, you're not trying hard enough! LOL BTW, if you're looking for a hot fire fighter story, check out hers. It's called **_**Firehouse**_**, and she has him washing the fire truck, all wet, and shirtless! That alone has kept me from writing my own fire fighter story thus far because I keep picturing HER Eric. So Symphonic Poem, here's your Yankee story…where's my **_**Firehouse**_** update?**

_Let's go Yankees! Clap! Clap! Clap Clap Clap!_

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns two of them. George Steinbrenner owns the rest. I'm just playing with Eric's balls! Hahahaha….**

YES

**SPOV**

I stood against the wall of the clubhouse watching the guys celebrate. I'd already gotten my interviews for the night so I just stood there taking it all in. Our team captain, Derek Jeter, had numerous microphones and cameras in front of him as he talked about tonights win over the Red Sox. We evened up the series 3-3 in the ALCS, so tomorrow's game would be the deciding factor in who went on to the World Series.

Jeter was the consummate professional, both on and off the field, but behind the scenes he was one of the biggest practical jokers on the team, as well as a really nice guy. The New York tabloids were always printing Jeter sightings around the city, but I knew better than to believe half of what they said about him. It was reported only weeks ago that he was seen at Tiffany's and Co. buying an engagement ring, but I knew straight from the horse's mouth that he wasn't getting engaged any time soon.

The sounds of "Hip Hip Jorge!" drew my attention to the starting catcher, Posada. The poor guy must be sick of that chant stemming from the ESPN Sports Center commercial a few years ago, but it was inevitable tonight due to his walk-off homerun that won the game in the bottom of the ninth and got him a whipped cream pie in the face from AJ Burnett.

I've been the on-field correspondent for the YES Network, which stands for _Yankees Entertainment & Sports_, for two years now. I had started off as an intern while I was earning my degree in Broadcast Journalism at NYU. When I graduated I was offered a permanent position with the station.

I had grown up a Yankee fan, so working for their exclusive network was like a dream come true. I got to travel with the team and enjoy all of their successes with them on and off the field, as well as meet the numerous Yankee legends that would be in the stadium or clubhouse on any given day. I had worked behind the scenes until the start of spring training two years ago when I was given the opportunity to get my feet wet reporting on the goings on at George Steinbrenner Field.

It was on that day that I met my boyfriend. Eric Northman had been acquired during the off-season from the National League and had one of the best arms of any pitcher in Major League Baseball. I knew who he was, of course, since he was a frequent news item as well. His good looks and reputation as a ladies' man was widely known. The first time I saw him in person I had to keep the drool from spilling out of my mouth. Before that, I had thought of myself as a little jaded. I was used to being around a bunch of good looking famous professional athletes, but to me they were all like older or younger brothers, depending on their age. Everyone on the team meshed so well that it was like one big family.

But, when he walked in that first day, I felt like a teenage girl meeting her favorite rock star. I had to interview him that day after practice was over and found myself blushing under his intense gaze. I'd gotten used to tall men since his 6 foot 4 inch height was the same as Jeter and a bunch of the other guys on the team, but something about him just made him stand out. He had cut his longer blond locks short since it was a requirement of being on the team, but I thought he looked even better now with shorter hair. His blue eyes were mesmerizing and were set off perfectly by his golden tan.

I continued to watch him over the next few days and he would usually find some excuse to come over and talk to me. When he asked me out to dinner the first time I reluctantly said no, even though it killed me inside. I was concerned about being just another notch on his bedpost as well as earning a sordid reputation if I dated a player and it ended poorly.

He seemed to take my rejection as a challenge and pursued me vigorously from then on. I told him 'no' more times than I can count and the guys took great pleasure in giving him shit each time I did. It became a running joke in the clubhouse after a while that although I worked for the YES Network, I apparently could only say 'No'.

My resolve waivered greatly the first time I'd seen him wearing the Yankees' pinstriped uniform. From his broad shoulders, down to his tapered waist, to the metal spikes on his cleats that man was sex on a stick. The way the pinstripes curved over his perfectly rounded derriere every time he brought his leg up and out with each pitch he threw had my heart thudding in my chest and moisture pooling between my legs. To me, nothing could be sexier than HIM wearing THAT.

During the first couple of months of the season I watched Eric get hit on left and right from groupies all over the country. Each time I felt a red hot stab of jealousy, but each time I saw him spurn their advances and then come over to me to ask me out again. That helped to weaken my resolve towards him even further, but ultimately it was Jeter that pushed me over the edge.

We were on the team airplane travelling to Anaheim to face the Angels and Eric had just vacated the seat next to me after receiving my umpteenth rejection when Jeter sat down. He prodded out of me why I kept declining Eric's dinner invitations and after listening to all of my concerns he assured me that no one would think any less of me for going out with him. Most of them had known me for years at that point and they knew I wasn't some slutty groupie willing to bed any player that came my way.

He patted my hand and winked as he got up from the seat and I followed soon after finding Eric and asking him to join me for dinner when we got to Anaheim. He made me stand there for a few minutes with no expression on his face whatsoever and I was worried that I'd finally rejected him one too many times before a huge grin came across his face and he accepted.

We've been together ever since. I'd even gotten to act out a few fantasies, making him wear his uniform a few times during the off-season so I could peal it off of him pretending I was the 'ball girl'. When we finally made our relationship public we found ourselves in the New York tabloid spotlight almost as often Jeter. We stayed in most nights anyway since the hours during the season were long for everyone regardless of whether or not he pitched that day. When we did venture out into the city everyone was always polite and gracious towards us, and the Yankee fans had no problems telling him exactly what they thought about his pitching performance, good or bad.

I looked over to where he stood in front of his locker with the press surrounding him. He was the starting pitcher for tomorrow night's game and was getting questions called out to him from every side. When everything was finally done he found me and we walked out to his car hand in hand. I'd officially moved into his apartment a few months earlier since we were always together anyway. He was acting a bit off, but I knew he was nervous about pitching the next day.

The Boston Red Sox were the archenemy of the New York Yankees and had been since the Yankees 'bought' Babe Ruth from them in 1919. The 'Curse of the Bambino' lived on for 86 years until that wretched day in 2004 when the Red Sox came back from a 0-3 deficit in the ALCS against the Yanks and went on to win the World Series. I preferred to pretend that season never happened.

The city was in a virtual frenzy with the Yankees being in the postseason, but the fact that they were facing the Red Sox made it doubly so. If he pitched poorly he wouldn't live it down in the eyes of the fans for months, if ever. They were like pit bulls, holding onto each victory or defeat as a personal point of pride or affront of their own character.

He was still quiet when we got home so I thought I'd leave him alone for now and let him work through his nerves. I made him a quick sandwich before leaving him in the kitchen and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

**EPOV**

I could tell by the looks Sookie was giving me that she knew something was up. I did my best to act normal and hoped that she attributed it to nerves about tomorrow night's game, which was mostly true. After she went into the bathroom I went ahead and stripped my clothes off to get into bed. I'd already showered at the clubhouse and I needed to get a good night's sleep for tomorrow's big game.

After Sookie finished taking a shower she crawled into the bed beside me snuggling right up against my side. After a goodnight kiss and 'I love yous' were exchanged we laid there side by side in silence for a while. When the silence became too much for her she finally broke down and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"No!" It came out a little more forcefully than I had intended so I followed it up with, "I'm just worried about tomorrow. It's a big game and I want to do well." I leaned down and kissed her forehead before she propped herself up on her elbows. Looking at me with a glint in her eye she said, "Maybe you'd feel better if you practiced a little tonight." She slid her leg over my body and sat up straddling me. Since we had started sleeping together in the nude when she moved in that got an immediate reaction from me down below and I could feel myself slowly growing harder underneath her. She grabbed my right hand and placed it on her left breast saying "How do you grip the ball to throw a fastball?"

I was at full mast now. I LOVED it when she played in bed. Sometimes I would swear that she would be the death of me, but oh what a way to go. Sitting up I grinned at her while tracing over her breast with my fingertips where the imaginary seams would be on my pretend baseball and then gripped it lightly with her pert nipple sitting at the v in between my pointer and middle fingers. I leaned forward and ran my tongue over it while gently kneading the flesh in my hand causing her to moan softly while rubbing her moist center up and down my hardened length.

"Mmmm.." she moaned, "and what about a curve ball?" I grinned wider as I slid my hand down to her glistening folds below saying, "That has more to do with how you turn your hand as you release the ball." I inserted two fingers inside of her causing her gasp out in pleasure and as I turned them on the way out I knew I brushed over her g-spot. Her hips bucked forward and I continued thrusting them in and out, tortuously slow, knowing she wanted me to go faster. With each turn I narrated the difference claiming one to be a curveball, another to be a slider, and the last one a cutter that Mo and I had worked on in the bullpen whenever I got the chance.

I had guessed she'd had enough of practicing because she raised herself up pulling my fingers all of the way out as I was showing her another curveball and impaled herself on me while sighing in contentment. She held perfectly still just enjoying the sensation of me filling her before looking at me once more asking, "And what about your signs?" I watched as she held out her pointer finger against her inner thigh.

I grabbed her hips and lifted her up and down while thrusting into her growling out, "That would be a fastball." I pumped into her furiously and felt when her muscles contracted around me as she cried out with her release, but I held out. There were more signs and she knew what they were. Once her panting died down she looked me in the eye and as if reading my mind, she grinned at me brushing the hair away from her dampened forehead and held two fingers against her inner thigh…a curve ball. I held onto her hips as she twisted her lower half around and around with each thrust of her hips, grinding down with each descent. She reached around behind her and grasped my balls in her hand and gently squeezed them while stroking the underside of my shaft with her thumb each time she raised her hips.

I could feel her muscles starting to contract once more and knew I couldn't hold out much longer. There wouldn't be any time for a slider tonight. I lifted her up and turned her around so that she was on all fours in front of me facing away and thrust right back into her. She cried out from the suddenness of it and I snaked my hand around her hip and wiggled four fingers up her inner thigh grunting, "Change-up." I slid them higher to her tight bundle of nerves and as I rubbed them in small circles her muscles clamped down and pulled my orgasm from the tips of my toes and a scream from my lungs.

I was definitely more relaxed now and pulled her limp body back up against mine as I settled down in the bed once again. I kissed the top of her head murmuring, "I should practice with you more often." She giggled before whispering, "I love you."

"As I love you," I replied but I knew she had already drifted to sleep. I lay awake for a little while longer feeling like the luckiest guy in the world. I knew Sookie was something special the first time I saw her and surprisingly had no problem having to pursue her. I was used to women falling at my feet and I had definitely enjoyed more than my share of them, but as soon as I saw her I knew I was done for. I also knew that when she finally yielded to me I would do whatever I had to do to make her happy.

I'd never forget when Jeter cornered me in the clubhouse after Sookie had shot me down for the tenth time. I was still relatively new to the team and he let me know that if I wanted nothing more than a fuck from Sookie to just forget about it. He told me that she wasn't like that and if I caused her any problems or heartache I'd have to deal with him along with most of the other players on the team. It seemed as though she had 24 brothers all looking out for her. Knowing she was special enough to elicit that kind of loyalty made me want her all the more and the day she finally agreed to go out with me was the happiest day of my life. I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face and my love in my arms.

The next night at the stadium I could feel the energy from the crowd in the air. I'd already experienced facing the Red Sox numerous times in the last two years, both at Fenway Park and at Yankee Stadium which was always intense, but nothing compared to facing them on Game 7 in the ALCS. I kept looking down at my arms expecting to see the electrical charge I could feel flowing along my skin.

I walked out to the mound and threw a few more warm-up pitches to Posada before Scutaro came to the plate. I took a deep breath and forced all of the noise out of my head concentrating only on Posada and the call signs he gave. Ten pitches later we were headed to the dugout after Scutaro and Pedroia struck out swinging and Martinez popped out to right.

I sat down and stuck my pitching arm inside of my jacket to keep it warm and watched our guys at bat. Jeter hit a homerun into the short porch at right off of the first pitch Wakefield threw. I shook my head in disbelief at his ability to always rise up when it counted most. He definitely thrived under pressure.

We were able to score another run before the end of the inning giving me a two run lead to work with. I repeated my deep breath at the start of the second inning and once again concentrated only on Posada. Before I knew it, it was already the middle of the seventh and we were winning by a score of 5 to nothing. The crowd was going crazy and I was surprised that my arm still felt great. I sat down on the bench again and saw all of the other guys standing along the dugout rail watching what was going on. I had no idea of what my pitch count was so far and I wondered if Girardi was going to bring in Joba to pitch the eighth inning before having Mo come out to close the game.

I got up from the bench and noticed the other guys giving me funny looks and moving out of my way like I had the bubonic plague or something. I brushed it off thinking they were just keyed up waiting for the game to end. I walked up to Girardi and asked him what my pitch count was. He said 77. I thought to myself that I was doing pretty good then. I usually didn't get pulled until I was around 110 or so. I asked if I was still going out in the eighth and he raised his eyebrow up into his hairline before asking me if I felt okay to go out. I assured him I felt fine so he said I still had the ball.

At the middle of the eighth the crowd was still on their feet and I could feel the whole stadium shaking with every hit we got. I sat down on the bench and noticed that none of the guys were sitting or standing next to me. None of them would look at me either. WTF? I thought we all got along okay. I stood up getting ready to ask them what their problem was when I looked out at the bullpen. I had expected to see Mo throwing his warm-up pitches, but he was just sitting there. I knew we had a 5 run lead, but I still expected that he would close out the game whether it was a save situation or not. That was when I looked at the scoreboard.

NY had 5 runs, 8 hits, and 0 errors. Boston had 0 runs, 0 hits, and 2 errors. I had a no-hitter going? I really hadn't paid attention to what was going on. I had been concentrating on Posada's calls and nothing more. I walked over to him and stood in front of him waiting until he finally looked at me.

"I have a no-hitter?" I asked him.

He looked at me like I had three heads and then smirked answering, "Yes."

All I could think of saying was, "Oh." Then another question popped into my head. "Am I going out in the ninth or is Mo?"

He shook his head at me like I was the village idiot. "Yes, you're going out in the ninth." He looked at me hard before following up with, "You really don't know?"

"Know what?"

"None of them have reached first base. If you get the next three outs you'll have a perfect game."

_Huh?_ I thought through tonight's game and couldn't remember walking anybody. _Holy Shit!_ Fuck! I wish he hadn't told me because now I was all kinds of jumpy. I realized then that was the reason the other guys were avoiding me. It was bad mojo to talk to the pitcher after a certain point when he had a perfect game going. I walked down into the tunnel to try to clear my head once more. The only other perfect game in the post season was by another NY Yankee, Don Larsen in the 1956 Game 5 of the World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. It's the only no-hitter in postseason play.

I kept walking and before I knew it I was in the clubhouse. I stood in front of my locker trying to wrap my head around the possibility of pitching a perfect game. Perfect. While I was thinking I noticed something sitting on the top shelf inside my locker. I'd been carrying it around for a while now. I reached in and picked it up, inspecting it once more before slipping it into my pocket. I thought maybe that would be my good luck charm.

I walked back out into the dugout and when we took the field at the top of the ninth the fans went crazy. The whole building was shaking as they all cheered, "_Let's go Yankees!"_ followed by 5 distinct claps or stomps. I'd never heard it that loud before.

I stood on the mound and tried to push the noise out of my head once more, but found I was having a harder time with it now. I even tried to do breathe through my eyelids like that chick told Tim Robbins to do in _Bull Durham_ but that shit didn't work. When my first two pitches were out of the strike zone, Posada and Jeter came to the mound. They told me to calm down and not to worry, they had my back. I looked out at the rest of the team and saw they were more nervous than I was, not wanting to blow the chance I had at making history by missing a ball hit their way.

I shook it off and focused again only on Posada. I watched as he placed his pointer finger on his inner left thigh. That would be a fastball inside to the right handed batter and I grinned thinking of Sookie making that same call last night. I threw the pitch towards Posada's glove and JD Drew launched to straightaway center. I held my breath as Granderson took off after it and watched in awe as he scaled the back wall and snatched a homerun away from Drew.

The crowd went nuts and I pointed to Granderson as a grateful acknowledgment of his extraordinary feat. I got two quick strikes on Cameron with fastballs and then got him swinging on a slider low and away that would've been called a ball if he would've held up from taking a swing at it.

I took a deep breath as the next batter approached the plate. The final batter if I could get him out. Before stepping back on the rubber on the pitcher's mound I ran my hand along my pant leg to wipe some of the sweat off of my hands and felt my good luck charm in my pocket. It made me feel better knowing it was there and I assumed my pitcher's stance.

I watched as Posada wiggled four fingers against his leg calling for a change-up and grinned again. I threw the pitch and watched as McDonald popped it up behind home plate. As soon as Posada caught it the sounds of the stadium came back to me as the crowd roared and I was mobbed on the pitcher's mound. We were all celebrating winning the ALCS and the guys hoisted me up on their shoulders as they carried me off to the dugout.

Sookie was waiting there on the field with the microphone in her hand and tears of joy in her eyes. I scooped her up in my arms and planted the mother of all kisses on her before she had a chance to react and the crowd got even louder. Knowing she had to interview me I reluctantly put her down and watched her as she listened to her cue coming from her ear piece signaling when she went live on the post-game show.

Her onscreen feed tied directly into the jumbo screen in center field and I watched as she smiled into the camera saying, "Yes Bob, I'm here with tonight's winning pitcher Eric Northman." Turning to me she said, "Tell us Eric, how does it feel to not only pitch a perfect game, but for it to happen in the deciding game of the ALCS?"

I smiled back her saying, "Well Sookie, I can only think of one other thing that would make this night truly perfect."

She smiled at me indulgently and asked, "And what would that be?"

I reached into my pocket to retrieve my good luck charm and saw Jeter standing off to the side watching with a smile on his face. I would forever owe him for picking it up for me a few weeks earlier. I held her hand as I got down on bended knee before her, and after slipping the diamond ring onto the ring finger of her left hand a look of shock came across her face and she gasped in surprise.

"Will you marry me?"

Her eyes filled with tears and she just stood there staring at me at a complete loss for words. The crowd started chanting, "SAY YES! SAY YES! SAY YES! SAY YES!" over and over. I found myself holding my breath as she opened her mouth.

"Yes."

**I want Yankee Eric! A LOT! I'm sorry if you're not into baseball. I used real players in the story, but I didn't want to get too much into who each player was. I'm sorry if it was hard to follow. Anyhoo, I'm starting another multi-chapter story within the next few days. I already have it plotted out so now it's just a matter of writing it. The working title so far is "Expectations", but it could change. That's the third title I've settled on in the last few days so there's no guarantee it won't change again. I also have a one-shot plotted out for Law and Order Shreveport. That should be up sometime this week too. Let me know what you think!**


	7. Hot

**A/N: I've been going through ESN withdrawal while writing my other fic since that Eric and Sookie aren't at the nookie portion of their relationship yet so I decided it was time for an update over here. Since no one voiced any objection to having Eric in different non-uniform occupations I've decided to give it a whirl…**

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns them all. I'm just making some waves…**

Hot

**SPOV**

I held my breath as I slipped into my favorite white string bikini. It had been quite a while since I'd last worn it and I wasn't too confident that it was going to fit. After securing all of the ties and tugging the fabric over the spots that are supposed to be covered I closed my eyes and turned to face the mirror. I slowly opened one eye and when I didn't feel like bursting into to tears I opened the other.

_Not bad_ I thought. I guess it was a good thing that I'd already convinced myself that I would look hideous and I was pleasantly surprised to find that wasn't the case. I could stand to be a little more tone, but it was definitely okay to wear it now.

It didn't really matter anyhow since the farmhouse I had grown up in and inherited from my Gran when she passed away was on a secluded piece of land. My nearest neighbor was more than a half mile away with fields, a cemetery and trees separating our homes so I didn't worry about anyone seeing me.

It was already late May and I hadn't had the chance to work on my tan at all yet. I was excited as I went downstairs with my beach towel in one hand and my tanning oil in the other. I set them down on the chaise lounge outside next to the new in-ground swimming pool. I had never thought about owning one, but it was sort of free so how could I say no? A friend of mine knew that along with the farmhouse, I'd inherited about 40 acres of the surrounding forest. He wanted to open up a Wildlife Rescue organization, but he needed land to do it. I signed over 10 acres that were the farthest away from the house, and since he's a general contractor he agreed to do something around the house for me in trade. The kitchen and bathrooms had already been remodeled and the outside was fine so he offered to put in a swimming pool. I knew it would get used a lot with the Louisiana heat and couldn't wait to throw a pool party.

I poured a tall glass of lemonade and set it down next to the chaise and slathered the oil all over my body before lying down and closing my eyes to worship the sun. I'm not sure how long I had been lying there when I heard a car door slamming shut from the front of the house. I sat up and watched as an Adonis of a man rounded the corner of the house carrying a bag of pool chemicals and a large skimmer. His blond hair was pulled back and secured at the nape of his neck and he was wearing a white sleeveless t-shirt over black Under Armor basketball shorts with a white stripe along the outer seam and flip flops. His skin was dark against the white of his shirt and his biceps were flexing from the weight of what he was carrying. I felt the moisture pooling between my thighs and it had absolutely nothing to do with the hot weather.

I could only guess that my facial expression gave me away because when I finally looked into his blue eyes he pointedly let his eyes travel up and down my nearly naked form before looking me in the eye again. His left eyebrow quirked up as he looked at me suggestively and said, "Good morning Miss. I'm here to clean your pool."

_Yeah, I got something you can clean…_ "It's Missus actually. Feel free. I'm just going to lay here and work on my tan if you don't mind."

He smirked and replied, "Oh, I don't mind at all."

I settled back onto the chaise and watched him as he worked. He strutted around pool slowly like he was putting on a show for me and then bent over to check the trap for debris with finest ass I had ever seen pointed right at me. I could barely take my eyes off of him and was a little disappointed when he straightened up.

He grabbed the skimmer and walked slowly around the pool getting whatever might be floating on the surface of the water while glancing over at me every chance he got. I continued to track his every movement without any shame at all which he seemed to be enjoying. I watched a look of pure innocence come onto his face as he said, "It sure is hot out today." Before I could respond he reached down and grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it up and over his head revealing his tan broad chest and six-pack abs. His shorts hung low enough on his waist that I could see the V cut leading down towards the Promised Land.

I swallowed before licking my lips at the sight before me and noticed his innocent expression changed into one of triumph at the obvious reaction he had gotten from me. _Two can play at that game…._

"Why yes, it certainly IS hot out today," I replied. I picked up my glass of lemonade which was dripping with condensation and brought it up to my cheek, running the cold glass around my neck and down to rest in my cleavage. I made sure to maintain eye contact with him as I moaned out, "Mmmm…that feels good."

He stood there with his mouth gaping open at me until he noticed my own triumphant expression. His eyebrow quirked up once more in an '_Oh yeah, top this'_ and he kicked off his flip flops and dove into the pool. I could see him swim to the bottom of the deep end and then he swam a few laps before heading back towards the shallow end. He slowly stood up and I watched each and every drop of water trail down his torso and wanted to lick each and every one of them from his body. I barely noticed the leaves he had in his hand until he held them up saying, "I couldn't reach these with the skimmer."

He smiled at me as he slowly ascended the stairs out of the pool and his wet shorts were clinging to his perfect ass and his obvious arousal. Before he could get out of the pool my hand involuntarily jerked at the sight of him and the glass that was still resting in my cleavage spilled some of the lemonade in between my breasts and my nipples hardened from the cold.

I placed the glass on the table and stood up saying, "Oops! I'm all sticky now. I think I'll just wash it off in the pool." I stalked towards him and he remained frozen on the bottom step of the pool watching my every move. I dipped a toe into the water testing the temperature before slowly walking down the steps. I was about to dip my whole body into the water when he reached out and pulled me by my waist towards him saying, "Here, let me help you with that." He immediately brought his lips down to my chest and licked the sticky trail in between my breasts. My whole body was slippery from the tanning oil and I wrapped my arms around his neck sliding my lower half up and down his erection.

"You're so hot" he growled as he latched onto my left breast over my bikini top and I held his head there with my hand as I wrapped both legs around his waist. When he moved over to my right breast I threw my head back from the sensation and when I righted myself again my wet hair dripped water down my chest and arms. I felt his hand pull the strings loose and my top floated away from us. Now that my chest was bare before him he suckled harder as he flicked his tongue over my nipple causing a low moan to come from my throat.

I needed to feel more of him. I ran my hands over the hard muscles of his back and I leaned over licking the moisture from his shoulder to his neck. I traced the outer edge of his ear with my tongue and whispered, "I want you to fuck me with your tongue." I guessed my dirty talk was unexpected because his actions stilled for a moment before he let out a deeper growl that I felt vibrate through his body and my bikini bottoms were suddenly gone. He brought his lips up to mine and swept his tongue into my mouth. Our kiss was frantic like we each needed it to breathe. I hadn't realized we were moving in the water until I felt my ass rest on one of the stairs of the pool. He leaned forward so that my arms came down to rest on the stair closest to my shoulders as he cupped my ass in his hands and brought it up towards the surface of the water. As he pulled back from the kiss he had a glint in his eye and asked, "When do you expect your husband to come home?"

One of his hands had travelled up and in between my legs. He trailed one finger up and down my slit before rubbing slow circles over my clit. I felt lightheaded from the sensation of it and answered, "At any time, so you'd better get a move on." He had a wicked smile on his face as he hooked each of my legs over his shoulders and thrust his tongue right into my core. I screamed out and grabbed onto the handrail to keep myself in place. His hardened tongue worked its way in and out of me and then licked up to my clit. Using the hand not holding the handrail I grabbed onto the back of his head as I grinded myself further onto his face and came undone when he sucked my clit into his mouth and flicked his tongue over and over across it applying more and more pressure until I exploded.

My hand let go of the handrail and the upper part of my body just floated in front of him in complete bliss with my legs still dangling over his shoulders. I felt him lower himself to free my legs and he grabbed onto my waist once more pulling me towards him as he said, "Oh, we're not done yet lover."

He turned us so that he was sitting on one of the stairs with his chest and arms clear of the water. I was still facing him with my legs wrapped around his waist and I hadn't realized his shorts had disappeared at some point until I felt him place his tip at my entrance. I eagerly lowered myself onto him and we both moaned at the sensation of it. He held onto my hips and helped me slide up and down his rock hard length. When he placed his mouth over my nipple and flicked it continuously with his tongue I quickly fell over the edge once more.

He continued to pull me up and down as I rode out my orgasm before he became frustrated with the slower pace we had to maintain because of the water. He quickly stood up and spun me around so that my hands and knees were on the steps with my ass just high enough that it was out of the water and he slammed back into me. The sensation of the water lapping up against my body with every thrust was quickly driving me towards another orgasm. He held my hips in place as he thrust into me harder and faster until I felt him swelling even larger inside of me. He pulled my body upright with my back against his chest as his hand snaked down my front to my clit and pressed down on it hard has he pounded into me again causing an explosion to rip out of my body as he came with a thunderous roar inside of me.

We stayed like that, with our bodies still connected until our heart rates slowed down some. He pulled me back into the water and held me to his chest while he kissed my neck from behind. I looked at the outdoor clock and saw that it was nearly 3 o'clock and knew the kids would be home from school soon. I looked over at him and gestured towards the clock to indicate the time. He smiled ruefully and retrieved my bikini top and bottom from the pool floor along with his shorts. After we were sort of dressed again he pulled me back in for a kiss and carried me up the steps of the pool before setting me down. He gave me one more kiss on the tip of my nose before getting the towels from patio. He wrapped one around me and as he was drying off with the other he chuckled and said, "Honey I'm home! Do you want to barbeque tonight? I think there're still burgers and hot dogs in the freezer."

I laughed with him replying, "Sure." I glanced at the flowerbeds in the backyard and noticed that I needed to pull weeds soon. Looking back over at him I smiled and said, "So how about you pretend you're the gardener next week?"

**I'm sure by this point you all are on to my game that there's more than likely not going to be Eric and Sookie are strangers' nookie, but it's still nookie nonetheless. I have an idea swirling inside my brain for the next chapter, and it's another non-uniform occupation as well. If you guys decide you're not liking them as much, I'll go back to just uniformed-Eric. Let me know what you think! **


	8. One Thousand Words

**A/N: Aaannnnddd…we're back. I'm sorry for not updating as often on this fic, but Island Eric has been occupying my thoughts A LOT. Anyway, based on the reviews some of you prefer the 'uniform' stories more while others don't care as long as there're lemons, so I decided to try to alternate between the two. I had planned on another 'occupation' type of story, but that will be posted next instead. I've also added links to my profile of pics to go along with each chapter in this story. As I was VERY distracted while finding them all, it only added to the delay of this chapter. I hope you likey! In this chapter, I give to you, Captain Eric Northman, Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 366 (HMH-366), Marine Aircraft Group 29, 2****nd**** Marine Aircraft Wing.**

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns them all. I'm just putting a different spin on how Eric can fly.**

One Thousand Words

**SPOV**

I waited anxiously on the deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, Nimitz Class Supercarrier, currently moving through the North Arabian Sea. For the next few months I would be embedded with a United States Marine Group patrolling and living in Afghanistan. This was my first big assignment working for Getty Images and I couldn't wait to get started. The Marines were sending a helicopter to the Roosevelt from the base in Afghanistan to get me as well as load up on supplies before heading back. I'd already been on the ship for several days and had resisted taking any photos. But now I held my camera in hand waiting for the first sight of the helicopter. I wanted it to be the first photo I took of this journey.

Within the hour I caught my first sight of the helicopter moving towards us from the north. I watched as it turned from a tiny speck in the sky until it was suddenly a gray behemoth about to land and my first thought was '_Oooh…there's the hot cobba cobba'_. It was what I called helicopters when I was a young child and the word stuck with me all of these years. It was larger than a school bus with a huge rotor diameter and I stood farther back waiting as the spinning rotors slowly came to a stop with my camera trained it. I started snapping away as soon as the doors opened and watched each member of the crew climb out. There were five in all, but one in particular caught my eye.

He stood taller than the rest, wearing a desert khaki one piece flight suit that made him appear even taller. I kept snapping picture after picture and zoomed in as they removed their flight helmets. The tall one was gorgeous and I changed my thought to _'Oooh…Hot Hubba Hubba'_. He had turned so that I could only see his profile while he listened to one of his fellow crew members say something and then he threw his head back in laughter. When he finally faced forward I could see through my view finder that he had noticed me taking pictures of them all. He kept a natural smile on his face as he walked in my direction.

Coming to a stop in front of me he quirked an eyebrow up and I realized I was still taking his picture. Blushing, I lowered the camera and he put his hand out in front of him saying, "Miss Stackhouse? I'm Captain Eric Northman. I'll be flying you back to our base once we get all of the supplies loaded."

As soon as our hands were joined I felt an electric charge zing through my body. Looking down I saw his hand completely envelop mine and noticed he wore no wedding band on his left hand. My eyes travelled from his large desert combat boots up his long legs to his broad chest and shoulders finally settling on the most handsome face I'd ever seen. His eyes were as blue as the sky he had just descended from and his hair as golden as the sun with full seductive lips framing perfectly straight white teeth. He could've been on the cover of GQ on any given day.

I stared transfixed on the site before me with my mouth gaping open like a stunned fangirl meeting RPatz at a Twilight premier. When his eyebrow once again quirked up, I quickly tried to dispel the notion that I was a complete moron by shaking his hand enthusiastically. Unfortunately verbal diarrhea poured out of my mouth. "Hi! Yes, I'm Sookie. I'm going to be staying with y'all for a little bit taking pictures of your everyday life. This is my first big assignment since I started working for Getty and I'm really excited to be here. Thank you so much for coming to get me. Is there something I can do? Can I help load anything?"

His mouth twitched into an amused smile and I dropped his hand and hung my head wanting to kick myself for acting like a lunatic in front of my new number one fantasy man (goodbye Captain Jack Sparrow, hello Captain Eric Northman!).

He chuckled before responding, "No, that won't be necessary. The guys will load the supplies. We should be on our way shortly. Have you ever ridden in a helicopter before?"

I thought out my entire reply before opening my lips attempting to do some damage control. "No."

He still seemed amused by me and I could only hope it was in a _'she's so adorable'_ way and not an _'I bet she's on medication'_ sort of way. "It's different than flying on an airplane, but I promise not to do any air acrobatics on your first flight."

"Okay." Great. I go from verbal diarrhea to one word answers. _Way to go Sookie!_

A couple of hours later we were on board the helicopter ready to take off. I told no one of my fear of flying because I didn't want to hurt my chances of getting this assignment. I closed my eyes and gripped the seat until my knuckles were white as I felt us lift up into the air. I was the only passenger in addition to the flight crew and I'd been given a helmet (not flattering at all) as well as a head set so I could hear and talk to the other crew members.

My mental chant of '_We're not going to crash. We're not going to crash,' _was interrupted by the voice that went along with my new number one fantasy. "Ms. Stackhouse? Are you okay over there?"

"Yes," I squeaked out.

They all laughed quietly at my obvious lie. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you. You're safe in my hands." _Well well well…_ That did wonders for my mental health because all thoughts of crashing were replaced by what I imagined those hands could do to me. I opened my eyes and saw he had turned to look at me and couldn't help smiling at him before yelling, "OH MY GOD! TURN AROUND AND WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" He laughed loudly before doing just that.

Over the next few days I followed alongside the Marines taking pictures of the most amazing views along with the different Marines while they did their jobs, or when they weren't doing much of anything at all. It was the moments of quiet when they'd let their guard down and reflect on whatever was going on inside of them that I found the most meaning in and had several of my favorite shots consisting of nothing more than those moments. All of the men and women were very nice and they all treated me as if I were one of them. I had just returned from a trip in the helicopter that Captain Fantasy (in my mind he wore his flight suit with a red super hero cape that had a big letter 'F' for fantasy on it) had piloted around the Farah Province and was sitting in the dining hall looking over the pictures I'd taken that day. I felt someone sit down next to me and looked over seeing it was the Captain himself.

He smiled asking, "Do you mind if I look at them with you?"

I slid my chair closer to him replying, "Of course." When we leaned towards each other and our arms touched I felt the electrical charge once again. I quickly shook it off and prayed I'd be able to act normal around him. For over two hours we looked at all of the pictures I had on the memory card and Eric would tell me something about each frame, whether it had to do with the scenery or someone in the photo. When he asked why I became a photographer I told him about a field trip I'd taken in school to an art gallery where they were having a photography show. I was mesmerized by the photos and went back day after day looking at them all. They all spoke to me and each still shot told a story that seemed to affect very my soul. I was hooked ever since.

Once there weren't any more pictures our conversation took on a more personal note and I learned that he had been in the Marines for over nine years and would be getting out in six months. When he asked if I was seeing anyone I felt my heart skip a beat thinking he might actually be interested in me. I told him I wasn't and found out that he wasn't seeing anyone either. He asked me 'out' in the form of accompanying me to dinner for our first date the following evening.

Over the next few weeks we spent every day together growing closer and closer. He was always the perfect gentleman just holding my hand as we walked and never giving me more than a tender kiss at the door of my private trailer/bunk each night.

As we got to know each other better Eric began accompanying me nearly everywhere and had started bringing his own camera along. We would compare photos each night in my room and I was really impressed with what I saw from him. He had a natural eye for a subject and I couldn't stop staring at one photo in particular of a young Afghan boy standing in his family's poppy field. Eric had taken the picture while we were there earlier in the day and I was moved by the haunted look in the boy's eyes.

Just looking at him made me sad which opened the floodgates on the emotions I had been trying to suppress with Eric. I had come to care for him deeply and knew my time here would be ending soon. I would even hazard a guess that I was falling in love with him but I had refused to let myself think about it. We hadn't even had sex yet. Not because he wasn't willing, but because I was worried about how much more difficult it would be for me to walk away from him when it was time for me to go if that was added to the equation. I didn't do casual sex and I didn't know what we were, nor did I know what would happen when I left here. We didn't talk about the future; we only lived in the present.

I felt the tears falling down my cheeks before I even realized I was crying. Eric sat down next to me asking, "Sookie? Why are you crying?" He reached out with his hand and wiped the tears from my cheeks. I couldn't bring myself to tell him all of it so I merely gestured to the photo. "It's a beautiful picture Eric. You captured a piece of his soul."

He pulled me into his arms and leaned his forehead against mine asking, "Is that really all that's bothering you?" He guessed by my silence that it wasn't. "Please tell me."

I sighed admitting, "I'm going to have to leave here soon. I'm going to miss going different places everyday with you. I'm going to miss looking at our pictures every night with you. I'm going to miss you."

Taking a deep breath he said, "There's something I think we need to talk about." I felt my stomach drop and prepared myself to not fall apart when I got the '_It's not you, it's me'_ speech. I closed my eyes not wanting to watch as he rejected me.

I felt him place soft kisses on my forehead, each of my closed eyes, the tip of my nose and finally on my lips. The tears started falling freely once more at his tender gesture only making it that much harder to steel myself for what he was about to say.

"I love you Sookie." I gasped from his unexpected words and my eyes shot open to see his only inches away. "I'm in love with you. I know we haven't known each other for very long and we've been in our own little bubble here in the desert away from the real world, but I also know I've never felt this way about anyone else. The thought of you leaving here, without me, tears me up inside. But I want you to go at least knowing how I feel."

I could feel my heart swell inside of my chest and I leaned forward capturing his lips with mine. Our kiss was urgent, desperate, as if one of us would die without the other. He hadn't changed out of his flight suit from his shift earlier in the day and I finally got to live out one of my fantasies. I grasped the zipper and slowly pulled it down while never breaking our kiss. He pulled open the button of my jeans while his lips travelled along my jaw to just under my ear. Grasping the hem of my shirt he pulled away from me long enough to pull it up over my head, taking my bra off next, and then grabbing onto my sides and turning me so I was now lying underneath him on the bed.

I had longed for the feeling of the weight of his body pressing down on mine and relished in the reality that it now was. I pushed the sleeves of his flight suit down his arms until they were free, grimacing at the fact he was wearing a tank top underneath it, and then worked them down his legs along with his boxers using my feet. As soon as his hands were free he moved them to my jeans pulling them down along with my underwear while his mouth travelled down my chest to my breasts. My back arched involuntarily at the wet contact on my skin and I moaned in pleasure while I wrapped my hand around his hardened length stroking him from the base of his shaft to the tip. He moaned while thrusting into my hand as he continued to devour each of my breasts in turn.

Once he had me completely bare he sat up taking in the site before him whispering, "You're so beautiful." I sat up pulling his tank top over his head and traced over each of his nipples with my tongue before pushing him down on his back while I climbed on top of him straddling his waist. I rubbed my wet core over his erection and he hissed as his hands grabbed onto my hips. I leaned forward pressing my lips to his whispering, "I love you too," as I slid myself down his length feeling completely fulfilled now that our naked bodies were finally joined together. I rocked back and forth while lifting up and down with each of us gasping and groaning as we found our rhythm. Our need became more urgent and Eric sat up so I slid my legs around his waist locking them in place. Using my hands I pushed off of his knees as he held my waist and thrust up as he pulled me down over and over. I felt him swelling even larger and he leaned forward taking a nipple into his mouth holding it between his lips while flicking his tongue across its peak. When his hand left my waist and snaked in between us to rub circles over my clit I came undone screaming his name. I felt my walls constrict around the base of his shaft and he yelled out with his release.

He fell backwards onto the bed taking me with him and once our panting subsided he pulled my face back to his. Brushing a lock of hair behind my ears he pulled me down for the most tender and loving kiss I'd ever had. When we finally broke free for air, we looked into each other's eyes and said, "I love you," in unison. He then made love to me once more with each of us taking the time to explore and memorize each other's bodies.

I stood at the airfield a couple of weeks later crying while Eric held me in his arms. I was leaving to go back to the States and we were saying goodbye for the first time since we'd met. "Shh…" he whispered into my ear. "We'll be together again before you know it." He was getting out of the military in a few more weeks and was coming to see me as soon as he got back. "I promise I'll email and call you every chance I get, although I'm not really good with writing down my feelings, so don't get upset if my emails sound weird. I'll be missing you and loving you no matter how I put the words down."

I smiled at his admission saying, "Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so you could just email me those if you can't find any to write." And he did. My email was filled with pictures almost every day and he had even managed to get pictures that other people had snapped of us together when we weren't looking. Apparently everyone around us watched our relationship unfold and I was grateful they did. I printed them out and put them together into a photo album starting with the first picture I'd taken of a tiny speck in the sky, followed by the behemoth CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter landing on the deck of the USS Roosevelt. The next showed Eric walking towards me, his image completely in focus while the movement of the others around him was nothing more than a blur and then when he stood before me with his quirked eyebrow while I acted like the fangirl that I was. The next few pages were photos the others had taken of us during my stay. There was one of me with my eyes squeezed shut gripping the seat on my very first helicopter flight. There was another of Eric and I standing in that poppy field in Afghanistan looking at each other like we were very much in love, even if we hadn't admitted it at the time. The last one was a picture of us sitting in the dining hall with our heads leaning together smiling as we looked at the pictures on my camera. I left plenty of empty pages hoping to fill them with our future.

As a photographer I had the luxury of working from home unless I was on assignment. A few weeks later I was sitting on my couch missing Eric because he hadn't called or emailed me in a couple of days. That happened sometimes when he had to train or was sent to provide air support when they were needed and the silence from him was always nerve wracking. I worried constantly about his well being and hoped he'd find a way to contact me soon. No sooner than I'd had the thought, my cell phone beeped alerting me I had a text. I opened it to discover I was receiving multiple picture texts and was confused at what I saw.

XXX

_One year later_

I sat on the couch taking the leather bound album from the coffee table and setting it in my lap. My fingertips traced over the words etched into the front before opening it up. More pages had been filled over the last year and I flipped through them remembering. The first is a picture of Eric's duffel bag all packed with his gear. The next is a picture of the military transport that flew him out of the desert followed by a picture of the commercial plane that flew him from Germany back to the US. Next was a picture of the taxi driver that picked him up at the airport and then a picture of the front of my house. I felt the tears forming in my eyes as I turned the page knowing what I would see. A picture of Eric's bended knee on my front porch holding my engagement ring in his fingers sat on one page with a picture of me throwing open my front door in shock with my cell phone still clutched in my hand on the other. A self portrait Eric had taken, by holding his phone at arm's length, of us kissing with my hands holding his face to mine with my ring on my left hand followed both of those. The last photo was from our wedding as we walked down the aisle moments after we became Mr. and Mrs. Eric Northman.

There were still many empty pages waiting to be filled at the back of the album and after I closed it I traced the words etched on front once more before putting it back on the coffee table. _One Thousand Words_

**A co-worker of mine told me the story of her toddler son saying 'hot cobba cobba' whenever he saw a helicopter almost 20 years ago and it has stuck with me since that day**_. _**Every time I see one that's the first thing that pops into my head. I hope you all liked Hot Hubba Hubba Eric, but I have to leave him for now so I can get back to Island Eric. *drools***


	9. Lost and Found

**A/N: I want to apologize for the suckiness of the last chapter. I re-read it and see where it could've been a lot better, especially the nookie portion. My only excuse is I had a major case of PMS while I was writing it. But, I've swallowed some Pamprin and more than my fair share of peanut M&Ms so hopefully this one will be a little better. This chapter was written due to a request from KatrinaP for a motorcycle mechanic Eric which I thought sounded simply mah-velous. There's something about a guy that can fix things because you have to assume he's good with his hands. :)**

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns them all. I'm just putting a powerful beast between Eric's legs.**

Lost and Found

**SPOV**

I drove north along Highway 71 still in a daze. I'd been living in New Orleans for the last ten years spending the first four attending Tulane University as an English major. I ended up getting my teacher certification and had been subbing at different schools for the last six years, but I always wanted to move back home to Bon Temps. I hadn't spent more than a couple of days there at any given time after I'd left for college, but when one of the teachers at the local elementary school retired last month I emailed my resume to the principal and after a telephone interview I was hired.

My whole world had turned upside down just a few days earlier when my entire family had been killed by a drunk driver on this very road. They were on their way back to Bon Temps from having dinner in Shreveport to celebrate Gran's 75th birthday when an SUV crossed over the center median and hit them head-on. Because I was due to move home this week I was going to take Gran out once I'd gotten home, otherwise I would have been in the car too. My Gran. My parents. My brother. Gone. They were all gone. I felt lost inside.

I'd been crying so much over the last few days I already had a handful of tissues clutched in my hand in preparation for another emotional breakdown as the tears started to fall again. I had just passed the exit for Shreveport when I started having trouble seeing the road through the tears so I took the next exit and pulled into the first gas station I came to.

I don't know how long I'd been sitting there crying when I heard someone tapping on my window. After wiping my eyes and nose I rolled the window down and looked over to see the most handsome man I'd ever seen. He was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans with black motorcycle boots over his long legs and a red plaid shirt buttoned up the front with the sleeves rolled up to the middle of his forearms and a black tank top peaking through the top. I thought the plaid shirt was odd given how hot it was outside but I guessed from the motorcycle helmet in his hand he'd worn it to protect his arms in case he got into an accident. His blond hair was pulled back with a leather tie at the nape of his neck and his blue eyes were creased with concern.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

My breathing was still shallow from crying so much so all I could do was nod. He didn't seem to believe me.

"Are you sure? Is there someone I can call for you?"

The tears flooded down my face as I shook my head no crying out, "There's no one. They're all gone." I buried my face in my hands sobbing uncontrollably. I didn't hear him open my door but I felt it when he wrapped his arms around me and I automatically turned into his shoulder feeling temporarily relieved to have someone hold me. He rubbed his hand up and down my back letting me ruin his shirt with my tears. I vaguely registered that he smelled of leather and motor oil with a hint of laundry detergent. Whatever it was, I liked it and I inhaled deeply before pulling away once my tears subsided to see him crouched next to my car so we were eye level.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

Worry lines etched his face as he took in my appearance. "Are you sure you're okay? You probably shouldn't be driving right now."

I took a few deep breaths and as soon as I felt like I could speak normally I said, "I only have a few more miles to go before I'm home." My breath hitched when I said 'home', but after another deep breath I continued, "Thank you."

He stared me down for another minute before squeezing my shoulder and standing up saying, "I'm sorry for what you're going through." He paused before adding, "Be careful driving home," and then he placed his helmet onto the seat of the Harley Davidson motorcycle behind him and went into the gas station's convenience store. I wasn't too far gone to not notice that his shirt had ridden up at some point with the hem resting near his waist showing off his perfect derriere. _Hmm_, I thought, _that was a nice distraction._ I filed the image away in my brain so I could think about it later and pulled out of the station to get back on the highway.

About 40 minutes later I was only a few miles from the exit for Bon Temps when my car started sputtering with a lot of black smoke billowing out and a God-awful knocking noise was coming from the engine. I had just pulled over to the side of the road and turned my hazard lights on when it stalled completely. I wasn't too surprised considering how many miles were on my 1986 Chevy Nova hatchback. It was one of the reasons I didn't visit home more often. The guilt washed through me that I HADN'T come home a lot and now I would never get to make up that time to spend with my family. The tears started again, but I pulled myself together after a few minutes knowing I had to walk the rest of the way to Bon Temps to see if I could get someone to tow the car. I hadn't yet replaced my cell phone after I threw it against the wall shattering it to pieces when I got the phone call telling me about the accident.

I took my wallet out of my purse and stuck it in my pocket before sticking my purse underneath the seat so I wouldn't have to carry it with me. Once I was out of the car, I locked it and was only a few feet away when I heard the sound of a motorcycle coming up behind me. I turned to see Mr. Red Plaid Shirt pulling up behind my car. He turned the engine off and sat there for a moment as he took his helmet off. I had to admit, no matter how upset I was on the inside, the sight of him was a very nice distraction. His chest was broad and I could see the outline of his abdominal muscles through his tight tank top as well as the bulge of his biceps through his long sleeved shirt.

I watched as he got off the bike and walked towards me. A few strands of hair had pulled loose from their binding falling to the right side of his face. A small smile lit up his face as he asked, "Did you break down?"

I felt a small smile come across my own face, the first one in days, when I asked, "Do you mean me or the car?" His eyes softened when I continued, "The answer to both questions is yes." I walked towards him closing the distance between us when he had me pop open the hood so he could look inside.

As he tinkered with the engine I came to stand behind him to add more images of his perfect backside to my internal vault while he questioned me about what the car did and how it sounded before it died. He finally stood up, pulling a bandana from his pocket to wipe the grease from his hands, and said, "It could be that the rod bearings are shot and the crankshaft has too much wiggle room, but I won't know without getting it into my shop."

All I heard was rods, crankshafts, and wiggle room. Those words did NOT conjure up images of my car either and instead brought up images of he and I on his bike doing all sorts of naughty things. I stood there off in my own little world feeling better for thinking about something other than what I had lost a few days earlier before I heard him say, "Miss?"

Shaking the thoughts from my head I said, "Please, call me Sookie."

His eyes softened when he said, "I know, Sookie Stackhouse, right?"

**EPOV**

I loved riding in the late afternoon. Ever since I opened my own shop I didn't have as much time to go out and just ride anymore, but now that a few years had passed and my business was more established I was able to hire a couple of guys and didn't need to be in the shop all of the time. I had gone to Shreveport to meet up with a few friends for lunch and was on my way back when I stopped to get something to drink.

The hideous yellow Chevy Nova caught my eye immediately. Being a mechanic, I had nothing against older cars, but this one in particular I just didn't like. And to paint it yellow just made it all the more hideous. I pulled up in the space next to it and was immediately drawn in by the blond crying in the driver's seat. I never liked seeing a woman cry but something about seeing her cry nearly broke my heart. She seemed like she was in so much pain that I was tapping on her window before I'd even made a conscious decision to do so.

When she turned to face me my heart skipped a beat. I immediately recognized her as Sookie Stackhouse. I had been wandering from town to town and state to state on my motorcycle for years. I never stayed more than a couple of months before moving on again and out of necessity I'd learned how to fix motorcycles and, later on, cars along the way. I found that I really liked it and had a knack for it so I saved up to open my own shop. I always felt like I was searching for something but I didn't know what. I had been estranged from my parents, who were quite wealthy, because I couldn't stand their pretentious attitude towards anyone they thought of as being in a lower class than them nor could I tolerate the girls that flocked to me wanting to live in that world. They were killed later the same year I had settled in Bon Temps when their private jet went down somewhere in the pacific and I was left as their only heir. I liked that the town was small and it had felt more like home than any of the others I'd been to so I stayed even though a part of me still felt incomplete. No one knew I came from money and they treated me just like anyone else welcoming me into their community and I opened my shop a few months later. I had yet to spend a dime of my inheritance and everything I had I earned through hard work. I'd first met Jason Stackhouse at Merlotte's Bar and Grill and over the next few weeks I'd become acquainted Jason's parents and his grandmother Adele after I'd been invited to her farmhouse for a fourth of July barbeque.

I had gone inside to use the bathroom and on my way back I'd stopped to look at the pictures hanging in the hall. My eyes stayed locked on the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. Her blond hair was the same shade as mine, but her blue eyes were lighter and her smile could light up a coal mine. Adele came up behind me saying, "That's my granddaughter Sookie, Jason's sister."

"She's very beautiful," I admitted. I felt Adele's hand come to rest on my shoulder and I looked down to see a twinkle in her eye as she said, "Yes she is, inside and out. I'll have to introduce the two of you the next time she's in town." I couldn't help smiling back when I said, "I'd like that."

But, we never were introduced. The few times she'd come home to visit I had happened to be out of town at the same time. I gone on a few dates here and there but I was still leery about getting close to any of them based on my history with women's motivations even though I knew they had no idea how wealthy I was. It was definitely a deal breaker whenever they uttered the phrase, "You could do so much better than just being a mechanic for the rest of your life." I'd heard it more often than not and they would be kicked to the curb as soon as the statement left their lips. I may have been overreacting but I really didn't care and somewhere deep down I always wondered if I was holding out to meet Sookie. The news that the Stackhouses had been killed spread like wildfire and the whole town went into mourning. When Adele had first gotten word that Sookie was moving home she burned up the phone lines for days spreading the good news. Now we all waited for Sookie's return wondering how she would cope.

Now, here she was in front of me, not coping very well at all. I could've kicked myself when I asked her if she wanted me to call someone. I was thinking maybe a friend of hers but of course she thought of her family. I did the only thing I could do. I opened her car door and wrapped her in my arms. When she tucked herself into my chest, it was as if the planets aligned and everything in the universe shifted to where it all made sense. I somehow knew she was where I belonged and I waited for her to pull back first because I knew I didn't want to let go of her. It took all of the willpower I had to let her go on her way and I had to walk into the convenience store just to give her the chance to leave. Something about her struck a chord where I felt protective of her and I wanted to take care of her. Letting her leave while she was obviously hurting went against every instinct I had.

I sat on my bike forcing myself to slowly drink the bottle of water I had bought just so I wouldn't be tempted to speed down the highway and follow her home to make sure she got there okay. I knew we would see each other again at the funeral in a few days and I didn't want her to think I was a stalker. After fifteen minutes had passed I finally started my bike and headed home. The fifteen minutes I'd waited had been a wasted effort anyway when I glanced at my speedometer and noticed I was going 20 miles over the speed limit.

A few miles before the exit to Bon Temps I noticed Sookie's car pulled over on the side of the highway with her walking a few feet in front of it heading towards the town. After looking the engine over I was pretty sure I knew what was wrong but I'd need to get it into my shop to be sure. It worried me that she seemed a little spaced out when I told her what might be wrong with it but I guessed it could be expected given everything she'd gone through over the last few days.

When she said to call her Sookie I felt it was the right time to tell her that I knew who she was. I explained how I had known her whole family and had moved to Bon Temps not long after she'd left for college. Her brows furrowed as she asked, "What's your name?"

"Eric. Eric Northman." I watched the recognition come across her features and she looked simultaneously sad and happy when she said, "My Gran talked about you a lot. She wanted to introduce me to you."

"She was a wonderful woman. I'm so sorry for your loss. I didn't say anything earlier because it seemed like you were going through enough without me adding my condolences on top of it all." I watched a few tears slide down her cheeks but she managed to smile as she said, "Thank you."

I pulled out my cell phone and called the shop to have one of the guys bring the tow truck. We made small talk while we waited and I filled her in on some of the goings on in the town. It wasn't much longer when the big black truck with 'Northman's Auto & Motorcycle Repair Shop' pulled ahead of the car. The look on Sookie's face was priceless when Bubba got out and started hooking up her car to be towed. She looked at me with one eyebrow raised and mouthed the word, "Elvis?" It didn't help that he was humming 'Jailhouse Rock' but I simply shook my head with a smile and mouthed back, "Bubba,' which caused her to laugh out loud. Her laugh and smile lit up her whole face and I made a promise to myself to do my best to make her laugh like that again.

Bubba was a good guy and did excellent work but he did come across as a little odd and I wasn't surprised when Sookie seemed hesitant to ride in the truck with him back to the shop. I opened the passenger door and pulled out an extra helmet that was sitting inside and handed it to her. Her eyes lit up when she asked, "I get to ride with you on your motorcycle?" My insides got all warm and tingly seeing how much she liked the idea of riding with me. Most of the other women I'd gone out with didn't want to mess up their hair, or would go for a ride but always seemed put out doing so. She seemed genuinely excited. I also noticed the twitch I felt down below at the thought of her hugging me from behind and smiled thinking I might have to take a couple of turns a little faster than normal to see how tightly she would hold onto me.

**SPOV**

I could hardly believe my good Samaritan/savior was Eric Northman. Gran had been talking my ear off about this man for the last ten years. I couldn't count the number of times she uttered the phrase, "You two would make the cutest babies." At her insistence I'd tried to meet him a few times whenever I'd gone home to visit but he was never around. At first I'd thought maybe she'd made him up because I doubted anyone could be THAT good looking and nice to boot. After I confirmed his existence through both of my parents and Jason I then assumed she must have been talking his ear off about me too and he high-tailed it out of town whenever he'd heard I was coming home. I couldn't really blame him. What good looking young guy wants to be set up with some woman's granddaughter he's never even met?

After he helped me strap on the helmet he climbed on first and started the bike. He then motioned for me to get on behind him showing me where to rest my feet and telling me to hold on to his waist. I leaned forward wrapping my arms around him and took another deep breath enjoying his scent while wondering to myself if this was all of Gran's doing. I could imagine her up in heaven looking down and pulling the strings so that Eric and I would finally meet. I did like him so I planned on being open to the idea of dating him if he showed any interest. In the meantime I just enjoyed the feeling of having someone to hold on to.

Eric took the long way to his shop so we wouldn't beat Bubba there and while I found the ride thrilling I thought he took a few turns a little fast. I didn't really mind so long as we didn't go tumbling down the pavement. After he took my luggage out of the car I grabbed my purse from under the seat and Eric drove me to the farmhouse in his truck. My parents had moved back in with Gran a few years ago to help her out with the chores and finances as she got older and Jason stayed in my parent's house. I had already decided I would be staying at Gran's because that was where we'd spent the majority of our time growing up and it felt more like home, but I wasn't prepared for the overwhelming sense of loss I felt when we first turned up the long gravel driveway and the house came into view.

Eric pulled up to the backdoor and parked which told me right away that he'd been here before. Only the people that knew us would know that we used the back door that led into the kitchen. Without turning to look at him I asked, "When was the last time you were here?"

"Two weeks ago," he replied softly. "Adele invited me over for Sunday dinner. She was very excited that you were moving home." I felt the tears sliding down my cheeks as I nodded remembering Gran telling me about it the next day on the phone. "She really wanted me to meet you," I whispered. I felt him place his hand over mine and squeezing it when he said, "Do you want me to come inside with you?"

A sob escaped my throat as I nodded again. He got out of the truck and came around to open the door for me. Once I was standing I sobbed even harder and he wrapped his arms around me until I felt ready to go inside. He kept his hand on the small of my back as we entered the kitchen and I stood in the doorway looking at the room in front of us. It hadn't changed at all for as long as I could remember. I half expected Gran to walk in with a basket full of laundry telling us to wash up because dinner would be on the table in a few minutes. My feet eventually moved and I wandered from room to room not really seeing any of it but still looking for something I knew I would never find. My family. When I got to Gran's room I could still smell her scent and my knees gave out as the sobs took over my body. I hadn't realized I'd been holding Eric's hand the whole time until he took it back to catch my crumbling body. He scooped me up and carried me back to the room I'd always stayed in when I visited Gran. I didn't question how he knew and was only comforted in the fact that he did.

He laid me down on the bed but when he went to stand up I clutched at him begging, "Please stay with me. At least until I fall asleep." I looked up to see him nod with a pained expression on his face. He looked around for a chair to sit in but I slid to the side of the bed and pulled him down next to me. I don't know why I felt comfortable enough to have him in bed with me but I did. He seemed to be okay with it too because he pulled my back flush against his chest and wrapped his arms around me holding me tight as I continued to cry. As the tears slowed down and my breathing became normal I felt him nuzzle and kiss the top of my head and I fell asleep feeling like I wasn't on my own in the world.

I woke up the next morning with Eric still holding me in his arms. The days that followed passed by in a blur, but the one constant throughout it all was Eric. He came with me to make the funeral arrangements and made sure I ate when I didn't even realize I hadn't. He sat next to me through the funeral and stayed with me at the cemetery when the remaining four family members I'd had left were laid to rest. He ran interference during the wake when all of Gran's friends from the Descendents of the Glorious Dead got to be too much for me to handle and stayed with me until I fell asleep only to get up and clean up everything once the house was empty. I'd relied on him so much that I don't think I would've been able to get through it all if he hadn't been there for me. He'd even brought my car back after he fixed it and refused to let me pay him for it. Any other time I would've fought him on that but I just didn't have the energy at the moment. Eric jumped into my life with both feet and I couldn't have been more grateful.

Once everything slowed down he didn't stop by as often but he did call me every day to see how I was doing. I found myself thinking about him all of the time and thought it was ridiculous to miss someone so much when I'd only known him for a couple of weeks. I still had two more weeks until school started and already had my lesson plans done for the entire year so I paced around the house not knowing what I should do to fill the time. I still had to go through the farmhouse and Jason's house to box up or donate what was there but I wasn't up to it yet. I eventually wandered into the kitchen and the sight of Gran rolling out a pie crust flashed through my mind. Instead of getting weepy I decided to roll my sleeves up and make Gran's pecan pie. Unfortunately I didn't stop there.

A few hours later I was pulling up to Eric's shop with a car filled with pies, cakes, muffins and breads. I got out of the car grabbing what I could carry and made my way inside. Bubba was sitting out front humming 'Love Me Tender' eyeing the plate of brownies I was holding in addition to a pie, a cake, and a loaf of banana bread. When I asked for Eric he pointed for me to walk back into the bay area and I handed him the brownies as I made my way towards the back where I found Eric working on a motorcycle. He was wearing faded blue jeans that had streaks of grease on his legs and a black sleeveless t-shirt with black motorcycle boots. His hair was pulled back in the leather tie and it was the first time I'd seen he had a black tribal band tattoo across his right bicep. _Holy shit he looks __good _I thought. He had been bent over the bike when I first walked up but I guess he'd felt the weight of my stare because he looked up, smiling once he saw me. He had a tiny black smear on his forehead just below his hairline that was begging for me to clean it off of him. I vaguely noticed his lips were moving and it slowly dawned on me he was talking but I hadn't heard a word he'd said. I only heard that black smear calling me over to wipe it away…with my cleavage.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying Eric?" _Pay attention Stackhouse! You can't ask him to repeat himself a third time!_

"I asked what you've got there," he said motioning towards the small bakery I was currently holding.

"I was bored and made a pie to pass the time. I got carried away." I smiled sheepishly at him as he took stock of what I'd brought. His eyes lit up when he asked, "Is that a pecan pie?"

It was Gran's signature dessert so I was sure he'd had it before. I prayed I'd done her recipe justice and just nodded in response. He went into the bathroom and came out a few minutes later with clean hands and I was a little disappointed my smear was gone from his forehead. He grabbed everything I was holding and I followed him back the same way I'd come in. He turned to give me another smile when he saw Bubba plowing through the brownies. He walked around to the rear of the shop to a set of stairs that brought us up to his apartment above his shop. I was immediately impressed at how clean it was. There weren't any clothes strewn about or piles of dishes or pizza boxes or empty beer cans. I found all of those things when I'd gone to check on Jason's house a few days earlier.

Eric set everything on the kitchen counter and pulled two plates from the cabinet setting them on the table along with napkins, forks, and a pie server. While I served the pie he looked back at the counter asking, "You baked all of this today?"

"Yes," I said as I took a bite of pie. "_Mmmm..."_ I closed my eyes and moaned. This was definitely my goto comfort food. I opened my eyes to see Eric staring at me holding the fork full of pie in front of his open mouth. I blushed as soon as I realized how that moan of appreciation may have sounded. "I really like pie," I squeaked out.

His gaze darkened and his voice lowered when he replied, _"So do I."_ I had a feeling he wasn't talking about pecan pie and I shoved another piece into my mouth before I embarrassed myself any further. We finished eating without any further moans or innuendoes and I automatically grabbed his plate when he was through and washed the dishes we'd used. I really wanted to spend some more time with him but I knew he probably had a lot of work to catch up on since he'd spent so much time with me when I'd first gotten to town so I grabbed my keys to head out.

I thanked him again for everything he'd done for me and put my hand on the doorknob to leave when he asked, "Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?" When I said I didn't he asked, "Do you want to go for a ride on my bike?"

Without thinking I jumped up and down saying, "I'd love too!" He laughed at my excitement and I followed him back outside and down the stairs to where his motorcycle was parked. Once we both had our helmets secured Eric started the engine and I climbed on behind him wrapping my arms firmly around his waist. As I pressed my chest against his back I inhaled his scent not realizing how much I'd missed it over the last couple of days until it filled my senses. Breathing a sigh of relief I felt the tension I hadn't realized I was carrying lift from my body and I relaxed into him.

Eric took the winding back roads all through the parish and we finally ended up at a lake a few miles from town. We sat at the water's edge talking until the sun had set. Everything felt so easy when I was with him and over the course of the few hours we were sitting there we had subconsciously moved closer to each other until we were side by side with barely an inch separating us. I fought the urge to lean over and kiss him, choosing instead to pick at the blades of grass in front of me. I knew I liked him but he hadn't given me any real indication that he felt the same, at least in a romantic sense. I knew my emotions were still raw from the trauma of the last few weeks and I was afraid of him rejecting me if I made the first move. The thought he had left town to avoid me all of the times I'd visited over the years was still in the back of my mind and it kept me from acting on my desires.

Out of the blue Eric asked, "What do you think about my shop?" His voice took on a more serious tone and by the intense look on his face it seemed that something important hinged on my answer although I couldn't figure out why. "I like it," I answered truthfully. "Why do you ask?" He looked down and shrugged his shoulders replying, "I've been asked in the past if I planned on being a mechanic for the rest of my life. I was just wondering what you might think of that." Without thinking I reached out placing my fingers underneath his chin and lifted his face until our eyes met. "Are you happy doing what you do for a living Eric?" I asked. The intensity was back in his eyes as he nodded his reply. "Then that's all that matters. Who cares what anyone else thinks? Personally, I find it quite..." I struggled to find another word besides _sexy_, "impressive that you can fix _something_ using your _hands _and _tools_." I hoped he would catch my drift and kiss me already but after a few minutes of staring at each other Eric said that we should get going since it was getting late.

Disappointed, I climbed back on the bike behind Eric and we headed back. He pulled the bike into the shop through an open bay door and I could see that Bubba had already left for the day. Climbing off of the bike I realized I really didn't want our day to end but I didn't know how to tell him without revealing my true feelings. I liked having Eric in my life and didn't want to make things awkward between us by putting him on the spot. I reluctantly handed my helmet over to him and took my keys out of my pocket to leave when Eric reached out and grabbed my hand.

**EPOV**

I warred with myself all the way back to the shop. I'd thought of nothing but her from the moment we'd met and I was having a hell of a time trying to be a gentleman with her when all I could think of was ravishing her all night long. Deep down I knew what her answer would be before I ever asked what she thought about me being a mechanic. Even so, I needed to hear her say the words. The way she said she was _impressed_ by what I did, I couldn't help but think she was trying to say something more. I wasn't sure if I was reading into her words and only hearing what I wanted to hear but when she turned to leave, after we got back to the shop, I knew I couldn't let her go without finding out. I reacted without any forethought grabbing her hand and pulled her body flush to mine grazing my lips against hers. When she gasped I took the opportunity to sweep my tongue into her mouth pouring everything I felt for her into that kiss and I was elated when she returned the kiss with just as much fervor.

As I held her body against my own I could feel my growing arousal pressing against her stomach but before I could pull away her hand snaked down in between our bodies and she opened the front of my jeans sliding her hot little hand inside where she stroked my straining cock causing me to moan into her mouth. "I need you Eric," she admitted with her lips still pressed against mine. "You make me feel alive." Any lingering doubts I may have had about how she felt about me disappeared and I started to pull her towards the door so we could carry on upstairs in my apartment. I thought she changed her mind and was going to tell me we were moving too fast when she pulled on my hand to halt my actions, but what she did next turned me on like never before.

With her eyes locked onto mine she kicked off her shoes and pulled her jeans off to reveal the smallest piece of pink fabric that barely covered her sex and the moisture that had soaked through gave evidence of her arousal. She climbed onto my motorcycle facing the rear end of the bike and pulled her shirt over her head dropping it to the floor. "Here. Ever since the first time I saw you I've wanted you _here_," she whispered as she slowly leaned back so her hands were resting on the handlebars. She was unknowingly acting out a fantasy I'd always had but had never acted upon because I hadn't found the right woman yet. I could've fucked a girl on my bike if I'd wanted, but not like this, not like it would be with someone like Sookie. I was glad I'd held out so now this act would always be ours.

I walked towards her slowly and straddled the bike facing her. I leaned down to capture her mouth with my own while my hands ran down her body memorizing each and every curve she had. I removed her bra wtih one hand while holding her ass with the other and rubbed my length up and down her center over the fabric of her thong. She whimpered when I slid my body backwards until my mouth made its way down her chest where I gave each of her breasts ample attention. Her moans became louder and she held onto the back of my head keeping it in place while thrusting her hips upwards trying to get more friction where she needed it. When her moans turned into whimpering I moved farther down her body blowing air against her now drenched thong and she cried out. I slid the fabric aside and lightly ran my tongue in between her folds causing her to scream out in ecstasy and she again ran her fingers through my hair holding onto the back of my head as if she was afraid I would disappear if she didn't hold on. Her breathing came faster as I increased the speed of my tongue licking up and down from her core to her nub before soley concentraing my mouth on her clit and thrusting two fingers inside of her. Her hips bucked down onto my fingers trying to match them thrust for thrust and I had to hold her down with my other hand afraid she might fall off of the bike. I felt her walls begin to clamp down on my fingers so increased the pressure of my tongue on her clit and she screamed out _"Oh God! ERIC!"_ as her climax ripped through her body. I'd never seen a more beautiful sight.

It was barely a moment later when Sookie sat up pulling my shirt off and tried, unsuccessfully, to remove my jeans while growling out in frustration. Her hair was tousled and her eyes were slightly unfocused. I wished I could take her picture to capture this moment in time forever. I slid off the bike and removed my jeans, taking the condom from my pocket that I had optimistically slipped in earlier while we were in my apartment. I slid back onto the bike and Sookie took the condom from my hands ripping it open and stroking me several times with her hand before sliding it down over my length. She held on to each side of my face pulling my lips to hers as I gripped her waist pulling her center towards me. She release her hold on me to grip the handlebars as I placed her over my tip with each of us moaning out in pleasure as she slowly slid onto me. I paused just to enjoy the feeling of being completely sheathed within her but I followed her lead when Sookie started moving her hips. While she held onto the handlebars I gripped her waist thrusting into her as I lifted and pulled her down onto me in a matching rhythm. Her pants and cries became louder and I felt her walls starting to spasm so I held her place on the bike while leaning forward and increasing our pace. My fingers found her clit as my mouth latched on to one of her dusty pink nipples. I flicked over each one with my fingers and tongue pushing her over the edge and she screamed out my name once more as her orgasm took over he body, her muscles clamping down around me and pulling a scream of "_SOOKIE!"_ from my throat as I was lost to my own climax.

We laid there, wrapped up in each other, waiting for our heart rates to slow down and our breathing to return to normal. Sookie's legs were trembling from the exertion they'd just been through so I ran my hands up and down their length in an attempt to soothe them. I looked down at her smiling face, still flushed with color, and knew I'd finally found what I'd been looking for.

**So there you have it. The whole thing about the red plaid shirt has to do with a picture of ASkars wearing that outfit and I'll be posting the link on my profile soon. I took a real shining to this pair so I might turn this one into a multi-chapter story later on if there's any interest. Since this was an 'occupation' Eric the next one will be a 'uniform' Eric. I'm torn between a fire fighter or an EMT, so I'm going to let you guys decide via the blue review button. Majority wins!**


	10. Challenge

**A/N: Finally, one of my personal favorite uniforms! Although EMT Eric led the way with 2 more votes in the last chapter several of you have requested Firefighter Eric, Vane3131, Cate8899, Mystic-notions, Cretin, & Vikinglover Elle to name a few, specifically so he won. I hope you all like him…I know I do! As horrible as this may sound, last year my BFF's father-in-law died and I made the trip into Philadelphia for the 8 AM funeral (traffic's bad at that time of day!) because I wanted to be there for her. I had to sit a few rows behind her at the funeral home because the seats next to her were taken. Her FIL was a retired fireman and at one point the local fire dept came walking in like it was Fireman Fashion Week (their names were printed across their butts!)in single file to pay their respects. A HUNK of a man was amongst them and as soon as I saw him I thought, OH MY!, and then immediately felt bad for feeling lusty at a funeral. I looked up to see my BFF had turned around and from the look she gave me, she was thinking OH MY! too. It was the only thing that made her smile that day and I was glad to have been a part of it. Sometimes they unknowingly save us from more than just fires. And like our favorite gracious plenty, this chapter is larger than most (of mine) so be prepared.**

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns them all. I'm just stoking the fire between Eric and Sookie.**

Challenge

**EPOV **

I stood on the side of the road watching the smoke rise up into the sky from the abandoned home in front of me. We'd arrived about an hour earlier after we'd gotten the call about the house being on fire and the flames were out now, but we still had to go through the charred remains to break apart what was left to make sure all of the embers were extinguished. I had taken off my flame resistant fire fighter coat and gloves while I drank some water to cool off when I heard a soft mewling sound coming from underneath the front porch. I walked over and got on my hands and knees to try to find the source of the sound when I saw a small kitten hiding in the back corner. His ears were singed and he had backed himself up against the foundation of the house. I laid flat on my stomach and shimmied my body as far as I could underneath the porch silently thanking God and my gene pool for giving me longer arms that matched my 6'4" frame. I was just about to grab him when the wood above him gave way and without thinking I reached for the wood with my left hand to catch it before it fell on his tiny body. The charred wood still held smoking embers that burned my bare hand and I tossed it to the side while yelling out as the heat seared into my palm. The kitten had skittered out from under the porch when I yelled and I actively cursed him as I slid my body back from under the porch only to find him waiting by my feet. The sight of his dirty and singed trembling body squelched my desire to drop kick him across the street so I picked him up with my good hand instead and carried him back to the truck where I fed him some water from my water bottle.

Once the house was declared free of any lingering fires we headed back to the station with the kitten safely snuggled up in my coat. I lived alone in my apartment so I decided to keep the little fur ball as the guys gave me shit for being able to find some pussy at a fire. Little did they know that it had been quite some time since I'd had ANY pussy. Not because the option wasn't there but because I was tired of having one night stands and the women I usually came across weren't good enough for much more than that. None of them offered any challenge for me by willingly falling into my arms after a few flirty glances and phrases filled with sexual innuendo.

My hand still hurt like a bitch when we got back to the station and the captain ordered me to go to the emergency room to have it checked out. I was right-handed and since it was my left hand that was burned I was still able to drive myself to the hospital so I could head straight home once I was done there. I still had the kitten with me so I carried him inside, not willing to leave him in my Corvette because I knew if he clawed the seats I WOULD drop kick him without any hesitation. I signed in on the waiting list and a few minutes later the triage nurse called me over to get my information. As soon as she saw my furry companion she told me that he wasn't allowed in the hospital and that I would have to take him outside. I protested that he was just a tiny kitten and I wasn't leaving him outside but she insisted that he had to go. I stood up ready to tell her fuck-you-very-much and storm out when I heard, "Wait!"

**SPOV **

I glanced at the clock and saw that my shift was almost over. The ER hadn't been too busy during the 12 hours I'd been there which was both good and bad. As an RN in the ER the busy times always made the day fly by but would leave me exhausted at the end of it while the slow times allowed me to sit down for longer than a few minutes but the time would practically stand still. I was just about to head to the locker room to get my purse and leave for the day when I heard raised voices in the triage area. Walking over to see what the commotion was about I saw a blond God of a man standing there. His long blond hair fell to the shoulders of his tall lean frame and his face had black smudges that I assumed were from whatever fire he'd been at before coming here. He was wearing a dark blue Shreveport Fire Department t-shirt that hugged his broad chest and black fireman pants with his suspenders hanging loose along the sides of his legs. I could see that his left hand was red with the skin of his palm raised up with what looked like first degree burns, but it was what was in his right hand that made me feel all warm and fuzzy towards him. His voice and facial expressions indicated his anger at the triage nurse but the big and tough fire fighter in front of me still gently cradled the tiny kitten with singed ears in his hand up against his chest. My heart melted a little at the sight.

I knew animals, other than service dogs, weren't allowed in the hospital and he looked as though he was about to storm out when I yelled out "Wait!" He looked up at me and my heart skipped a beat as I was temporarily trapped in his cerulean blue eyes. Shaking off my sudden stupor I walked over and asked, "Is there a problem?"

His eyes went from angry to smoldering in a heartbeat as he eyed me up and down like a hungry lion and I was his prey. "I can think of several problems I have at the moment and I hope you can fix _all_ of them," he purred.

_Here we go_ I thought. Now don't get me wrong because he was hot as hell, but I couldn't stand it when guys tried to be the suave lothario thinking that a few smarmy lines and smoldering eyes would be enough to have a girl drop her panties for them. I'd heard many pick up lines over the years from patients and doctors alike and they didn't do a thing for me. I was raised to be a proper southern lady and no amount good looks and cheesy lines was going to get me into bed. I deserved better than that. If it wasn't for that poor little kitten he was holding I would've smacked his burned hand with my own and just left him standing there.

Rolling my eyes I replied, "The hospital has a strict policy against allowing animals inside. So since your little friend appears to have burned his ears feel free to leave him here with me while YOU wait outside." _Take that Mr. Smarmy Blond God!_

I was surprised when he threw his head back and roared with laughter. Good Lord that man was sexy but I was still put off by his smarminess. When he was done laughing he smirked at me and handed over the kitten saying, "I'll be waiting for him outside." I watched as he turned and walked out the door while having to swallow the drool that had quickly accumulated in my mouth at the sight of his ass in those pants. And the sight of his broad shoulders and back didn't hurt either. I glanced down at the triage nurse and we gave each other a '_He's an ass, but WHAT an ass!'_ conspiratorial look before I took the kitten back into the treatment area.

I cleaned the dirt and soot from the kitten's body and after inspecting his ears it was apparent his injury was a minor one. The poor little thing was very skinny and couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 weeks old and he looked pitiful with half of his whiskers singed off too. He reminded me of my own cat Tina from when she was kitten because they had the same gray fur. I wet a couple of gauze pads in cold water squeezing out the excess and placed one on each of his ears and then wrapped a long piece of gauze several times around the top of his head over his ears and underneath his chin to keep them in place. I giggled when I looked at the finished product because he certainly didn't look too happy with me at the moment, but he didn't try to take it off.

I grabbed some extra supplies and headed outside to treat Mr. Smarmy. I found him sitting on a bench near the entrance to the ER and sat down next to him. He took one look at the kitten and shook his head saying, "You made him look like a pansy. He's obviously a tough guy having survived a fire. He's got pride you know."

I put the kitten in his right hand and took a hold of his left hand to start treating it. "He doesn't look like a pansy and his pride will be left intact. Leave his head wrapped up at least until tomorrow morning." I took a good look at his hand and couldn't help noticing that he wasn't wearing a wedding ring or how large his hands were which made me take a quick glance at his feet. His boots were quite large too. I filed that little tidbit away for later and began cleaning his hand with some wet cotton balls. The skin was mostly just swollen and red with just one tiny blister so it was at the top end of a first degree burn, but nothing serious. I took the kitten back while he went inside to wash his hands with soap and water. When he returned he sat back down taking the kitten from me and giving me his left hand again. While I applied some Neosporin to his hand I glanced up to see him nuzzling the kitten against his cheek and heard the kitten purring up a storm. I couldn't resist smiling at them and when he caught me doing just that he said, "Thank you for taking care of him."

I just shrugged my shoulders and looked back down at his hand still resting in my lap saying, "I like cats. I have one of my own." He went on to tell me how he found him at a burned down house just a short while ago and was going to keep him. I actually warmed up a little more towards him after hearing him talk about '_the poor little fella'_. Once I had finished bandaging his hand I gave him an ice pack to hold to help with the swelling and a few individual packs of Tylenol for the pain.

We both stood up and I looked around asking, "Did you drive yourself here?" When he said yes I wondered at whether or not he had any supplies for the kitten wherever he lived. "Do you have any cat food or litter at home?"

I watched his shoulders drop as he said, "No. I guess I'll be stopping somewhere to get them before I go home." I could tell he was feeling the pain in his hand and could picture him trying to hold a basket and the kitten while shopping in a store. I shook my head at him and said, "Follow me."

We walked over to my car and I opened the trunk taking out a bag of cat food and a bag of litter that I had picked up at PetSmart on my lunch break. I didn't need them, but they had been on sale so I'd picked up several of each. When he saw what I had gathered he looked at me without a hint of his earlier smoldering and said, "Thanks. I'm sorry if I offended you earlier. I'm Eric by the way."

He seemed genuinely sincere so I accepted his apology and smiled saying, "You're welcome. I'm Sookie." I walked him back over to his car and placed the items inside while refusing to let him pay me for it. He looked like he had more to say but his cuteness with the kitten mixed with his overall hotness and sincere attitude was quickly draining my resolve of acting like a proper southern lady so I told him to take care of himself and hightailed it back inside before I ended up asking him what other problems he had that he wanted me to fix.

**EPOV**

I sat in my car in the hospital parking lot overrun with thoughts of Nurse Sookie. Not only was she GORGEOUS but she didn't fall for my line of bullshit and put me in my place immediately. I hadn't tried to pick up a woman in quite some time and I wondered if I might be losing my touch. I was pleasantly, and not-so-pleasantly, surprised by her reaction. She was the first woman to shoot me down in a long time which was refreshing and only made me want her more, but the fact that she DID shoot me down was upsetting because I REALLY wanted her. I left the hospital prepared to meet the challenge she was presenting me with every intention of coming back here soon to ask her out on a date.

The next day I removed the emasculating gauze from the kitten I had decided to name Bubba and drove to PetSmart to get some more cat supplies. I grabbed a shopping cart and pushed it around the store until I finally located the cat aisle. I was looking at collars and heard from behind me, "How about this one? The rhinestones are VERY manly."

I turned to see Nurse Sookie standing there smiling holding a tiny pink collar covered in rhinestones. I smiled back at her and then rolled my eyes asking, "Why do you keep trying to make Bubba a pansy?"

She giggled, "Bubba? You named him Bubba?" I straightened my shoulders standing a little taller asking, "What's wrong with Bubba? It's a good strong name. It suits him."

She laughed again saying, "I don't know. It just seemed that you were acting so ootsie cutsie with him yesterday I was expecting 'Shnookums' or something like that."

I silently wondered if she found ME ootsie cutsie and I mock glared at her but couldn't keep the smile from my lips as I said, "I was NOT acting _ootsie cutsie_ with him." I knew I HAD acted that way but I had my 'man ego' to protect.

"Whatever you say Mr. Big Bad Fireman. How's he doing anyway?" she asked.

I saw my moment of opportunity and leapt at it replying, "Why don't you come to my place for dinner later on tonight and you can see for yourself?" I watched as she silently debated over her answer thinking _please please please_ and offering up a silent prayer when she said, "Just dinner, right? No funny business?" _YES!_

"I promise, just dinner." I gave her a quick look of disapproval saying, "I don't put out on the first date young lady." I had to chew on my lips to keep from laughing at the look on her face but once she realized I was kidding she smiled and rolled her eyes. She surprised me again when her eyes narrowed and she seductively said, "That's too bad." If her lips hadn't twitched up at the corners of her mouth I would've believed she was serious instead of yanking my chain but I figured I deserved it after yesterday. I wrote down my address and we traded phone numbers after planning on having dinner at 7 o'clock that night.

After paying for my cat stuff I rushed to the grocery store to get everything I would need to make our dinner that night. I was the best cook at our station and decided to make chicken parmesan with a side Caesar salad and garlic bread. Once I got home I set up Bubba's new litter box and showed him where it was along with his new food and water dishes before I went through the apartment cleaning everything. I wasn't a slob by any means, but I wanted to make a good impression on Sookie. It was harder to do one-handed but once every surface gleamed I got started on making our dinner.

An hour later I moved the breaded chicken breasts from the frying pan into the baking dish and covered them liberally with marinara sauce. I slid them into the oven to warm the sauce and glancing at the clock I saw it was already 6:30 so I hopped into the shower. I could hardly believe how excited I was about our date. I hadn't EVER invited a woman to my place simply because I always wanted the option of leaving whenever I chose and I didn't want them knowing where I lived so they could just stop by whenever they wanted. I had no feelings of apprehension with Sookie though and that thought alone had me thinking this girl would be changing more than my dating style. I was just stepping out of the shower when I heard a knock at the door. I dried off as quickly as I could but since I didn't own a robe I just wrapped the towel around my waist and went to the front door.

I opened it to see Sookie standing there wearing a white sundress with little red flowers all over it holding two bottles of wine. It fit her curves beautifully and accentuated her breasts in a sexy, yet classy, way. The skirt ended just below her knees showing off her tanned legs and I silently wondered if she had tan lines anywhere on her body hoping I might get to eventually find out. Her hair hung in loose curls down passed her shoulders framing her beautiful face. I realized I was staring and was about to apologize and invite her in to find that she was staring at my body as well with her mouth opened just a tad. I couldn't resist smirking at her while waiting for her eyes to travel to mine, up from my chest which is where they were currently fixated.

As soon as her eyes finally met mine I was treated to the sight of a full on blush that rose from her chest and up into her cheeks once she realized she'd been caught. "You're early Sookie, but please come in." I moved to the side so she could walk through the door and turned to face her once I closed it behind her. I looked down at the bottles of wine she was still holding and asked, "Are you planning on getting me drunk so you can have your way with me?" I took a step closer to her and lowering my voice to almost a whisper I said, "Because you really wouldn't need the wine to get me to comply with your wishes."

Her blush had faded some but was back in full bloom as she stammered out, "N-no. I didn't know what you were making for dinner so I brought white and red." She held up both bottles as if she were presenting evidence at a trial. Even though I knew she'd said 'no funny business' I still sighed in disappointment and said, "Well, it was worth a shot. But please let me know if you change your mind," I ended with a smile.

**SPOV**

I double checked that I had everything I needed and took my bags out to my car before locking up and heading out to the interstate. I was going to New Orleans where I would be meeting up with Eric to watch as he competed in the state Firefighter Combat Challenge. He had driven down the day before to check in and get a good night's rest prior to today's competition, but I had to work so I was driving down this morning. The competition was starting around 9 o'clock in the morning, but Eric had called to let me know the night before that his time slot wasn't until 2 o'clock that afternoon so I had plenty of time to get there. It had been a month since our first dinner date at his apartment and we'd been seeing each other pretty regularly ever since. There was definitely some serious chemistry going on between us but he'd kept his word and acted like a gentleman every time we were together. I had no doubt that he wanted our relationship to progress to a sexual one as well and I had every intention of making that happen while we were there.

Truth be told, I had a difficult time not jumping him every time I saw him. He was just so sexy, but I learned he was sweet, funny, and smart as well. Whenever we went out anywhere I would watch the women nearly swoon at his feet trying to get his attention but his eyes never strayed from me. He made a joke or reference every single day that he wanted me sexually which I always brushed off with my own joke or feigned indignation. The most difficult times for me were when we kissed. I swear that man could heat up an entire Alaskan village in the dead of winter with the amount of heat he could produce with just one kiss. We had gone out to dinner together the night before he left and he blessed me with one of those kisses at my door before he left. If I hadn't already known he was leaving early the next morning I would've dragged him inside right then and there.

He called me a few hours after I'd been on the road to see how my trip was going so far and to tell me where I would be able to find him once I got there. Before we hung up he asked me for the umpteenth time in various ways, "Should I run out and buy lots of condoms for when you get here? Are you ready to yield to me yet Lover?" It was a pet name he had bestowed on me on our second date and I wondered aloud at the time if it was his way of trying to convince me to go along with making it a true statement. His answer was simply, "Yes." I could hear the sexy smirk I was sure he was currently sporting, but instead of giving him my patented eye roll, which he wouldn't have been able to see anyway, I simply said, "I'm on the pill."

Silence. For a while. "Eric? Are you still there?" I asked. Maybe the call got dropped. I was wearing my Bluetooth so I picked up my phone from the cup holder it had been sitting in to see that we were still connected. "Uh…Eric?"

"Does that mean what I think it means?" His voice was nothing more than a hoarse whisper.

"What, that I'm 99.98% protected against getting pregnant? Yes," I answered coyly.

"Lover, if you're playing with me I can assure you that you will be punished for it." He spoke slowly enunciating each word and my panties dampened immediately following his statement.

I had to take a deep breath and clear my throat before I responded in the same hoarse whisper, "Lover…you shouldn't tempt me into playing with you by making those kinds of assurances."

I had no doubt my panties were soaked through when I heard his responding growl. I caught myself swerving somewhat while I was lost in the fantasies of what I wanted to do to/with him later on and told him I had to go before I wrecked my car. He responded with a simple, "I'll see you soon _Lover_."

I finally arrived at the Firefighter Challenge to find that every other human being on the continent must be there as well. Eric had already told me to just park at the hotel and take the courtesy shuttle the hotel offered to guests attending the event. My southern lady grace and charm got me nowhere with this crowd and soon I was pushing and shoving my way through the masses to get to the front of the course where Eric would be starting in a few minutes.

I picked him out of the crowd easily with his blond head a few inches higher than any of the other's around him. It was a few minutes until 2 o'clock so I stayed where I was standing knowing he would be starting soon. I don't know if he felt my eyes on him but his head turned and he immediately locked onto my gaze and smiled before his eyes changed into his sexy smoldering look causing me to lock my knees together to try to stop the moisture he was producing between my legs from running out of my shorts. Our eyes stayed locked onto each other until Eric was told to move to the starting point on the course.

He moved into position and placed his helmet on his head before placing his hand in the starter's position. He was wearing his 'turnout gear' which consisted of his helmet, coat, pants gloves and boots as well as his SCBA tank on his back with the face piece on. I'd never seen him wearing all of his gear before and the mere sight of it had my girly bits throbbing. I knew he was handsome but I could only be thankful he hadn't been wearing that the first time we met because I probably would've dragged him behind a curtain in the ER and attacked him. I knew he had six minutes to complete the course but he said the winners were always done in under 2 minutes. Another competitor dressed identical to Eric was a few feet to the right of him on the symmetrical course. As soon as the horn sounded he grabbed a 42 pound high rise hose pack throwing it over his shoulder and took off practically flying up the stairs of an open tower three flights high. His longer legs allowed him to skip multiple steps at a time on the way up but he'd told me he had to touch them all on the way down or else he'd get penalized.

As soon as his foot hit the top platform of the tower he dropped the hose pack into a container at the top and then turned towards the railing where he grabbed onto a rope and began hoisting another 42 pound donut roll of a large diameter hose up the side of the tower. As soon as it cleared the railing he quickly dropped it into the container as well and ran down the stairs making sure to touch each one while holding onto the handrail.

Next Eric ran to a machine that he said was a chopping simulator that mimicked forcible entry. He grabbed onto a nine pound mallet and began hitting the end of a 160 pound steel beam needing to drive it a distance of 5 feet using nothing more than the force of the mallet. He was already done and headed to the next part when his competitor arrived at the mallet. Eric ran a 140 foot slalom course at the end of which he picked up a charged hose line and dragged the nozzle forward 75 feet through a set of swinging doors where he turned the hose on, hitting the target with water, and then turned the hose off letting it drop to the ground.

Running to the last part of the course Eric lifted the 175 pound dummy with his hands hooked underneath its arms and dragged the body 100 feet down his assigned lane until they both crossed the finish line where he unceremoniously dropped it. I looked up at the clock and saw that a total of 1 minute and 31.44 seconds had passed from his start to finish. The crowd roared as he bent over trying to catch his breath. He stood up a few moments later and looked over at me with a relieved expression on his face as he threw off his helmet and headed towards me.

**EPOV**

As I got to know Sookie over the last month I grew to like her more and more. She was sweet and funny and she called me out every time I tried to get her to 'yield' to me. I couldn't deny that she was giving me the challenge I had been craving. The kissing and minor petting that had occurred between us so far was amazing and just the thought of how she tasted and the feel of her soft skin underneath my fingertips could get me hard within seconds. But I knew 5 minutes in to our first date that she was going to be so much more than a mere roll in the hay. I'd never spent so much time with the same woman in my entire adult life, but I just couldn't seem to get enough of her. I thought about her constantly whenever we were apart, which really wasn't all that often. If I didn't know any better I might even hazard a guess that I was falling in love with her. Since I'd never been in love before I couldn't be sure, but I knew I couldn't picture my life without her in it and even had a hard time remembering how I filled my spare time before she came along. I was glad she hadn't accepted my initial overtures to get her in bed because I now knew that when it happened it would be spectacular.

I won't deny that the thought had crossed my mind that the weekend we were spending together in New Orleans would finally have her writhing naked underneath me. When I was making the hotel reservations I offered to pay for a separate room for her but she merely looked at me for few moments and then said that it wouldn't be necessary. Then she smiled wide and said I could always sleep on the couch, but I honestly didn't care if we would both be spending the night in the same room. Just one more realization for me that I was definitely smitten with this woman. Over the last few weeks our kisses and touches had become much more heated and I'd had a difficult time restraining myself from taking things too far. But I wanted her to be the one to make it perfectly clear that she wanted us to move forward and until that time I would simply keep on jokingly pester her to 'yield'.

The morning of the firefighter challenge competition my thoughts had naturally been filled with Sookie. I had no doubt that she was perfectly capable of driving down to New Orleans by herself but it didn't stop me from worrying about her nonetheless. I held off for as long as I could before I finally gave in and called her cell phone. The tightness I felt in my chest disappeared as soon as I heard her voice. We made some small talk and I told her she'd be better off parking at the hotel and taking the shuttle to the competition. I'd competed a few times before but I'd never seen a crowd as large as the one here and I knew she'd never find a parking space nearby. I was just about to end our phone call when I jokingly asked her if I should stock up on condoms for when she got here fully expecting her to shoot me down again. When she merely replied she was on the pill I could've sworn my heart stopped. I sat down because my knees felt weak and replayed her words in my mind looking for what those few precious words really meant. She tried to make a joke but I was no longer in a laughing mood and warned her against teasing me although I had no idea of how I would punish her for it. She had me wrapped around her little finger and I couldn't think of a single thing that I would deny her. When she turned on her sex kitten voice warning ME in a way that suggested she would actually LIKE me punishing her my dick hardened instantly and I'm pretty sure I growled at her but I can't be certain because most of my blood had run from my head to points farther south in my body.

I was standing amongst the group of guys competing near the course when I sensed her presence. I looked up and my eyes went right to her. I smiled seeing her standing there and then her words ran through my mind once more and all I wanted to do was grab her and run off with her thrown over my shoulder like a caveman. I nearly said to hell with the competition just so I could get her back to our room NOW, but they called us over to our starting position before I had the chance to beg off. As my hand rested in the starting position and I waited to hear the horn sound signaling the start of the competition the only thing I could think of was that the faster I got done with the competition the sooner I'd get to have Sookie in my arms. Crowd or no crowd I was claiming her mouth with mine as soon as I was done here. I heard the horn sound and took off. I'd practiced so often that running through the course was second nature to me so I didn't have to focus on what I was doing. I merely focused on Sookie, and her lips against mine, and her skin beneath my fingertips. The next thing I knew the race was over. As soon as I caught my breath I stood up and saw her standing a few feet away cheering for me and I again just reacted opening my coat and throwing off my helmet while closing the distance between us in three long strides.

I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her tiny frame higher so I could give her a proper kiss hello. She always tasted so sweet and I'd missed it having gone a whole day without it. I felt her wrap her legs around my waist while my hands came down to cup her perfectly heart-shaped ass and she moaned into my mouth while rubbing herself against my front. I KNOW I growled then and broke our kiss so I could see where we were going as I started walking in search of the shuttle back to the hotel. Sookie had buried her head against my neck and the feeling of her panting breaths against my sweaty skin was going straight into my painfully stiff cock. I barely heard her through my lust induced haze when she asked, "Eric, where are we going?"

"Hotel," I grunted. _Me caveman. Me claim Sookie._

"But Eric," she protested, "don't you want to stay here for a while?" My pace hadn't been very swift because there were too many people in the way and I didn't want to use Sookie's body as a battering ram so I slowed down even more and looked down at her asking, "Why? Do YOU want to stay here?" _Please say no! Please say no! _

"No," she answered, "but don't YOU want to stay until the end?"

"Why would I?" I had no clue why she thought I'd want to stay HERE when there was a bed waiting for us back at the hotel.

She started giggling and pointed behind me. I turned to see the results board and my name was in the top slot with my time more than 10 seconds faster than the guy in the second place. The haze cleared from my mind a little more and I realized my time was nearly 20 seconds faster than my fastest time ever before now. I sighed and pulled her lips back to mine for another kiss before putting her down. "I HAVE to stay until I'm either knocked down to fourth place or until everyone is done competing," I gruffed out. I could care less about winning first place because at this point the only thing I wanted was Sookie's naked body against mine, but if I left I would be disqualified and my captain would have my ass washing the trucks for the next year.

For the next two hours I stood around while touching Sookie in some way until the last firefighter completed the course. I'd never thought winning first place would be bittersweet, but it was because while winning was nice I'd just missed out on giving Sookie two hours worth of orgasms. I'd much rather get a trophy for that!

As soon as the awards were presented and a few pictures were taken we finally left to go back to the hotel. We retrieved her bags from the front desk where she'd left them and as soon as the door to our room closed behind us I dropped her bags on the floor and had Sookie pinned against the wall with my lips crashing down on hers. She kissed me back with just as much passion and grabbed onto my ass pressing me against the front of her body even harder. My hands started running up the front of her shirt when she put the brakes on our actions. I'm sure the look on my face was the same one you'd see on a four year old child being told Santa Claus had died. She smiled and kissed me once more before pulling back to say, "Don't worry, we are DEFINITELY finishing this, but...," she looked at me apologetically and continued on saying, "could you take a quick shower first?"

**SPOV**

I didn't think Eric was going to give in and get in the shower but he finally went into the bathroom pouting after I promised to join him during his next shower. He was still all sticky and grimy from competing today but I didn't really care in the least. I'd wanted wear the special outfit I'd purchased specifically for tonight as a surprise and I'd needed him to leave the room so I could put it on. As soon as I heard the shower turn on I stripped off the clothes I was wearing and pulled the red silk teddy on along with the matching red thong. He'd mentioned in the past how much he liked the color on me and when we'd gone walking through the mall last week he'd seen it in the window of Victoria's Secret practically drooling on the glass while trying to talk me into modeling it for him. I denied his request but ran back the next day to buy it along with a 'naughty nurse' outfit from Frederick's of Hollywood that I planned on wearing for him the next time he had a even a hangnail.

I quickly lit and scattered a few candles I'd brought with me and turned out the lights. I'd barely flipped the switch when I heard Eric turn the shower off and I jumped on the bed attempting to sprawl myself seductively across the center of it. My hair was still swaying in the breeze caused by my movements when the bathroom door opened. Eric's body was backlit by the light in the bathroom and I could see that his skin was still damp with his wet hair slicked back. He had on nothing more than a towel and I was reminded of our first date seeing him wearing it but smiled with the knowledge that tonight that towel would be coming off.

He turned the bathroom light off as he stalked towards me with a seductive grin on his face asking, "Lover, is that the same negligee we saw in the mall last week?" I could see his arousal poking out against the towel and nodded my head while sitting up on my elbows and looking into his eyes as he came to stand at the foot of the bed. He slowly crawled up my body caressing and kissing every bare piece of flesh in front of him. His lips ghosted over the fabric of my teddy kissing strategic points along the way but leaving the fabric in place as his lips finally met mine. Our kiss started out slowly, the urgency from before having disappeared, with each of us exploring the other as we enjoyed the feeling of our bodies pressed against each other. Eric pulled back slightly and looked down into my eyes asking, "Are you sure this is what you want Lover?" I knew he'd back down graciously if I said I'd changed my mind and it only made me want him more. I reached along his side and pulled the towel away from his body with one hand while my other slipped down in between our bodies and wrapped around his hardened shaft making him gasp and his eyes roll back in his head. I stroked up his entire length and when his eyes finally returned to mine I said, "Yes Eric. I want this. I want you." I leaned up to kiss him again and said against his lips, "Now yield to me Lover."

Eric sighed in relief as he leaned down to kiss me again and I released him from my grasp as he rubbed his erection against the silk separating our bodies. My hands raked up his back as his hands slid underneath the fabric running them over my ribcage and up to my breasts. I whimpered in need as his fingers lightly pinched my nipples and I felt him smile against my lips obviously pleased with my reaction. He slowly licked and kissed his way down my chest while bringing the silk fabric up and over them with his hands. He slowly swirled his tongue around my areola and then laving his tongue over the hardened peak. I could feel the moisture running down my thighs and the pleasurable tension coiling low in my body. My hips began moving of their own volition wanting some attention from him as well even as I held his head in place at my breast with my hands.

He switched to my other breast taking the nipple in between his teeth and with every flick of his tongue over the tip I felt the corresponding throb in my clit. I started moving my hips again as his hand trailed down the sides of my body leaving goosebumps in their wake. His mouth and body made their way farther down my torso until his face came to rest in between my legs. Using his tongue he cleaned off the trails of moisture that had run out along my inner thighs and whispered against my skin, "Lover, you taste amazing." His breath blew out against my drenched thong as he spoke and I moaned at the sensation it produced.

He placed light kisses on my tiny bundle of nerves over the fabric before hooking his fingers around the strings of the thong at my sides and pulled causing it to rip from my body. I looked down at him having never been more turned on in my life and he smirked back at me saying, "I enjoy this type of 'forcible entry' much more," before his tongue glided through my slick folds. Completely unable to control my own movements I threw my head back and my hips bucked up towards his face as I panted and moaned in pleasure. His tongue continued to lick up and down from my core to my clit slowly, but as my body continued to writhe in front of him his tongue began to move faster while bearing down harder against my flesh. I could feel myself teetering on the edge of bliss and looked down to see his eyes watching my reaction to it all. With his eyes locked onto mine he thrust two fingers inside of me and sucked my nub into his mouth at the same time. I felt my muscles clamp down on his fingers and screamed out as an earth shattering orgasm rocked through my body.

His fingers continued to pump in and out of me while his mouth concentrated on my clit drawing out my orgasm until another one came tumbling forth in its wake. As the spasms died down Eric ran his tongue up the center of my body as it continued to twitch until he held me still with the weight of his body on top of mine. His tongue swept into my mouth and I could taste myself on him as I felt his need both in our kiss and against my thigh. His hands wound their way into my hair and my own dug into the flesh of his ass as he placed his tip at my entrance. We moaned into each other's mouths as he pushed his way inside with my hips lifting into his wanting him inside of me as much as he wanted to be.

We slowly rocked into each other enjoying the feeling of our bodies being joined together. As our pace increased, so did the force of our thrusts, and our kiss finally broke apart when the need for oxygen became too great. My legs hooked around his body and his arms hooked under mine with his hands on my shoulders holding my body in place as he continued to drive into me. He pressed his lips along my jaw and kissed his way towards my ear. I could feel the air expelling from his lungs as he raked his teeth along the outer edge of my ear and when they nipped at the skin directly behind it my third climax in an hour ripped its way simultaneously from my head and my toes, meeting in the middle where my walls locked down at the base of Eric's shaft and we screamed out with our mutual release.

I woke up the next morning with my naked body pressed firmly against Eric's, our limbs tangled up in each other. His fingertips were lightly tracing their way up and down my spine and I pressed my lips into him kissing his chest. Eric slowly stretched out on the bed letting out a soft moan when he was done. I could see that some parts of him were more awake than others and I rubbed my hand across his chest asking, "Do you feel okay?"

He pulled me closer against his side as he responded, "I've never felt better. I'm just a little stiff from all of the _exertion _yesterday." I looked over to see the smirk on his face and I reached down wrapping my hand around his hardened length. His eyes rolled back into his head and a soft moan escaped his lips while I slowly stroked my hand up and down. "My," I said, "you DO feel _stiff._ I think you need _Nurse Sookie _to help you." I slid off the bed and grabbed the Frederick's of Hollywood bag from my suitcase. I gave Eric's inquisitive eyes a wink and went into the bathroom to change.

***Cue the music Nelly!* **_**It's gettin' hot in here (so hot) So take off all your clothes…**_**I added a link to the real fire fighter challenge website on my profile. There are pictures of the winners of the last few events. Umm…yeah. I think I need to attend one of these myself. There are a few cute guys pictured *waves at Sam Harmer, Bryan Schuka, and Nate Rohda*. Up next… *shrugs shoulders* What would YOU like to see?**


	11. Lessons Kiss A Cook Contest Promo Fic

**The Kiss a Cook Contest**

**Title: **Lessons

**Your Pen Name: **kjwrit

**Beta Name: **Northwoman**  
**

**Characters: **Eric & Sookie (ARE their other characters?)

**Disclaimer: **Not Mine...no matter how many times I wish!

**A/N: I had a complete brainfart at the end of the last chapter because I KNEW this chapter would be next. Consider this a promo fic for the Kiss A Cook contest being hosted by A_Redhead_Thing and ohfortuneslost. The link for their contest page will be posted on my profile for this chapter. Gigantic thanks to Anne aka Northwoman for beta-ing this for me. I'll send you the Viking as a thank you wearing nothing but a chef's coat. ;)**

**SPOV**

I rummaged through my closet looking for something to wear. The look I was going for was 'sexy-but-classy/practical-but-beautiful' and I wasn't having any luck. My best friend Amelia's father had bid on a cooking lesson with the famed Chef Eric Northman that was auctioned off for charity. I'd been to his restaurant Valhalla once and loved the food but I couldn't afford to go regularly on my elementary school music teacher's salary. Amelia's dad only made his bid as a tax write-off and gave the lesson to Amelia. She knew how much I liked the food there, as well as the huge fan girl crush I had for the chef, so she gave it to me.

I could out-cook anyone in a kitchen, having been taught by my Gran, and I was always the person in charge of preparing the food whenever there was a get together. But, I thought it would be nice to learn to prepare something other than down home southern comfort food and it would be even nicer to be taught by him. I didn't want to act like a dithering fool around him and who knows? Maybe I'd be able to impress him with my culinary skills.

I finally settled on a flattering red sundress that hugged my curves, but not in a slutty way, while it accentuated my tan. I pulled a headband over my hair to keep it out of my face and curled the ends a little so they had some extra bounce. A little bit of mascara and lip gloss completed the look and I headed to Shreveport. I was so nervous about meeting him that the hour long drive seemed to take only minutes because before I knew it I was pulling into the parking lot. It was 1 o'clock on a Monday afternoon and the restaurant was closed. I'd taken a personal day off from work just to be here and I couldn't think of a better way of spending 8 vacation hours.

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I walked towards the door and I made sure to wipe my sweaty palms on my skirt before I knocked. Moments later the door swung open and there he stood. Like my own personal fantasy come true. He was even better looking in person and taller than I expected too. His long blond hair was gathered at the nape of his neck and he wore a traditional white chef's coat with knotted cloth buttons. There was black piping on the pockets, collar, cuffs and facing as well as the Valhalla logo embroidered over his left side pocket and he wore solid black pants underneath. His eyes were a darker blue than mine and his teeth were gleaming white and perfectly straight with soft looking, kissable lips surrounding them. I was staring right at them and while I could see them moving as if he was talking I couldn't hear anything but the sound of my blood rushing through my veins and my thundering heartbeat.

I closed my eyes willing my heart rate to slow down and when I could hear again I finally opened them once more only to see him looking at me like he was concerned. _Great! I haven't even said two words to him yet and he thinks I'm an idiot! _I plastered on my fake smile and thrust my hand in front of me saying, "Hi! I'm Sookie Stackhouse! I'm here for the cooking lesson!" _Oh good, now I sound like a cheerleader at homecoming that's forgotten to take her ADHD meds!_

**EPOV**

I woke up already dreading the day. I don't know what I was thinking by offering up a cooking class to auction off for charity. I should've saved myself the hassle and just donated myself. The only people that could've afforded the $10,000 they paid for the lesson could certainly afford to hire a cook for themselves and never have to step one foot into the kitchen.

I dragged myself into the shower and once I was done I took my cup of coffee and sat at my mother's baby grand piano. She'd been a concert pianist and I'd inherited it after she died. I could've gone to Julliard and then followed in her footsteps, God knows I played well enough, but I was more passionate about cooking which was another love I'd learned from my mother. I could immerse myself within a kitchen and stay there for hours. I found it cathartic, while my family and friends called it me being anti-social. It was a good thing I didn't care what they thought.

I ran my fingers over the keys, playing bits and pieces of Bach and Mozart before I couldn't put it off any longer and drove to the restaurant. I'd decided to have a couple of options and let them choose whichever one they wanted to make. I already planned on being the one to have to do all of the food prep because I doubted they would want to get their hands dirty.

I was busy slicing lemons into wedges when I heard the knock on the front door. Cleaning my hands on a dish towel as I walked, I opened the door to see the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. She was wearing a fitted red sundress that hugged her curvaceous body like a glove and her long blond hair was pulled back with a headband. It took me a moment before I could find the words that had been lodged in my throat.

"Good morning. I take it you're here for the charity cooking lesson?" I asked. Her features seemed frozen as she stared at me even as her chest was rising and falling at a fast pace. I got concerned when she closed her eyes fearing she might hyperventilate and pass out before I could even find out what her name was. I became more concerned when she opened her eyes and a crazy smile came on her lips as she stuck out her hand out saying, "HiI'mSookieStackhouseI'mhereforthecookinglesson!" I hoped she was just nervous and not actually crazy so I grasped her tiny hand into mine feeling a zing run up my arm and spread like a wildfire throughout my body as soon as we touched.

"Eric." I couldn't form any other words. _WTF is wrong with me? _I felt nervous and I don't DO nervous. It's not in my vocabulary. I'm an intimidating, crass, overbearing, my-way-or-the-highway type of guy. But this little blond haired blue eyed girl in a red sundress and headband had me internally tripping all over myself.

I don't know how long we stood there but I eventually noticed I was still holding onto her hand and one or both of us had sweaty palms. I was pretty sure it was me. Shaking off my sudden case of _STUPID,_ I released her hand and led her into the kitchen. I turned to show her where she could put her things and found her only inches away. I was instantly caught up in her scent which was a mixture of the sun and honeysuckle. I hoped she wasn't married or in a relationship and gave her one of my chef coats to wear just so I'd be able to smell her scent again later on even if I felt a little pathetic because of it.

**SPOV**

I couldn't help deeply inhaling the fabric of Eric's chef coat. I'd followed behind him into the kitchen in the wake of his scent. I couldn't quite identify it but Irish Spring soap was definitely an ingredient and it was absolutely wonderful. I was sure if he could bottle the scent he'd make millions. The coat was way too big for me but I didn't care in the least and secretly wondered if he'd let me keep it as I rolled up the sleeves.

Once I was ready I looked up at Eric and saw him staring back at me. I did my best to maintain my non-fan girl composure and waited for him to say something. I guessed he was waiting for me to start so I asked, "What will we be making today?" and smiled with what I hoped wasn't my _Crazy Sookie_ smile.

He shook his head before replying, "Well Mrs. Stackhouse I was thinking of showing you how to make Chicken with Tangerine, Honey and Chipotle Glaze if you think you'd like that?"

It took all of my willpower to not interrupt him but as soon as he was done speaking I blurted out, "Oh, I'm not married and please, call me Sookie." My heart skipped a beat when he seemed pleased by my remark with a small smile on his lips. He started gathering the ingredients and placed them in front of us and handed me a tangerine instructing me to grate the peel. My nerves were making my hands shake and I accidentally cut my finger on the grater.

Eric took my hand to inspect my wound and cleaned it up before placing a band-aid over the cut. He then took out another grater and set it in front of me before he placed the other one in a sink. I was just about to start grating the peel when I felt him come to stand directly behind me. He wrapped each of his arms around my body placing each of his hands over mine while saying, "Here, if you place your hands like this and push down you'll have more grated peel than grated fingers."

I could feel his breath in my ear as he spoke and I involuntarily leaned back into him becoming engulfed by his body. I held my breath and waited to see if he'd pull back but he only leaned forward more while we continued to grate the tangerine peel together. His breaths were long as if he was inhaling deeply and I wondered if he liked my scent as much as I liked his.

I almost let out an audible whimper when he let go of my hands and stepped to my side to start on the next ingredient. I was trying to figure out a way to get him to touch me some more when he asked, "Do you cook a lot at home?" I mentally crossed my fingers and said a silent apology to God when I fudged the truth answering, "Oh no. I can barely boil water." _Now get over here and touch me, I mean, show me some more! _And he did!

We spent the next hour preparing the chicken with Eric showing me how to chop and mince various ingredients that I could've done on my own in my sleep, but it was oh so very nice to have him helping me. The dish had to be refrigerated for 2 hours and Eric helped me make a dessert called Grapefruit-Campari Granita with Vanilla Whipped-Cream. While we made the dessert I'd explained to Eric how Amelia's dad had won the lesson and that she'd given it to me. I figured he'd assume it was because I couldn't boil water and I let him keep making that assumption instead of telling him that it was really because I had a crush on him.

He'd asked if I'd ever been to his restaurant before and I told him I had, but that it was a little out of my price range to eat there on a regular basis. When he asked what I did for a living, I told him that I was a music teacher at the elementary school and a huge smile lit up his face.

By the time we'd finished the dessert and it was placed into the freezer, the chicken was ready to be cooked. It only took twenty minutes to grill and he served it with grilled asparagus and brown rice and as soon as I took the first bite I closed my eyes and moaned in pleasure at the taste. I was startled when I heard Eric's fork fall back onto his plate and opened my eyes to see him staring at me with his mouth slightly opened.

When he noticed that I'd stopped eating and was looking at him he quickly picked up his fork and shoveled some food in without speaking. I was feeling really sad at the thought I had to leave once the dessert was done and I'd helped him clean up the kitchen. He hadn't said anything about giving me the chef's coat so I reluctantly took it off and placed it on a chair. Eric walked me to the door and we stood there just staring at each other.

**EPOV**

I didn't want her to leave. I was trying to take as much time as possible while we cooked and later when we ate, but it seemed to just fly by and before I knew it she was standing at the door about to leave. I felt like a pimply faced teenager all over again feeling nervous about the girl in front of me and couldn't believe what I was about to do.

"I was thinking, you said you're a music teacher, right?" She nodded her head so I continued, "What do you think about giving me piano lessons once a week and in return I'll give you cooking lessons?"

"OKAY!" she agreed enthusiastically. "But when would you have time? I work school hours, obviously, so I wouldn't be able to do it until after school or on the weekends."

"The restaurant is closed Mondays so how about 5 o'clock every Monday? I could teach you a different meal and while it cooks you can give me a piano lesson?"

I watched as her eyes traveled around the restaurant before she asked, "Do you have a piano here?"

I hoped and prayed it wouldn't be a deal-breaker when I said, "No. I was thinking we could do it at my place." Her eyebrows shot up into her hairline and I realized how that might've sounded so I quickly followed up with, "The lessons. We could do _the lessons _at my place. I have a piano at home and we could cook in my kitchen. Then we can eat whatever it is we prepared afterwards."

My heart warmed when she smiled a genuine smile and said, "I'd love to."

We exchanged phone numbers and I gave her my address and we agreed to meet the following Monday at my house at 5. I couldn't stop thinking about her all week long. I'd taken the chef coat she'd worn home with me and it was currently residing on my bed next to my pillow so I could smell her when I first woke up in the morning and again before I fall asleep at night. It was starting to lose its potency so I planned on washing it every Monday morning and having her wear it every Monday evening to keep it fresh. I was pathetic.

I was so pathetic that I racked my brain for a reason to call her and dialed her number as soon as I'd thought of one. When it went to her voicemail I smacked myself in the head realizing that it was later in the morning and she was working. Since it had rang before going to voicemail I had to leave her a message so she wouldn't see just a missed call from me. I asked her the lame question I could think of to call her with, "Do you have any food allergies?" and waited for her to call me back.

The restaurant was pretty busy and I didn't hear my cell phone ringing in my pocket so I was surprised when I checked it later and saw I had a new voicemail. I was both happy and sad when I heard her voice but kept the message so I could listen to it whenever I wanted. She said she wasn't allergic to anything but she hadn't asked me any questions so I didn't have a reason to call her back. I had erotic dreams of her every night waking up each morning more frustrated than the last. I knew I'd been scaring the employees because they gave me a wide berth at the restaurant and I moped around the rest of the week until it was finally Monday again.

**SPOV**

I was nervous driving over to Eric's house but not as bad as I had been the week before. I'd worn another summer dress that buttoned up the front along with high heels and a little make-up pretending that this was a date, even though I knew it wasn't. When I pulled into his driveway I was impressed by the view before me. He lived in a suburb made up of the wealthier residents of Shreveport and his house was a large two story that had nice sized porch that ran along the entire front length with the mandatory swing at one end that they all seemed to have.

I gathered my purse and the beginner's piano lesson book I'd brought along and walked to the front door. It opened before I could knock and I was again left breathless at the mere sight of Eric standing there. He was wearing a tight black t-shirt that showcased each of his biceps and the definition of his cut abdominal muscles. His dark wash jeans hung low on his hips and a strip of bare skin was peeking through between the hem of his shirt and the waist of his jeans showing a few tufts of blond hair.

I was unable to speak from being too busy swallowing the drool that was quickly accumulating in my mouth and thankfully he stood to the side motioning for me to enter as he said, "Please, come in. Did you have any trouble finding the house?" I could only shake my head 'no' as we stood there staring at each other. I fought the urge to fling myself at him and tackle him to the ground which is what I REALLY wanted to do and held out the book I'd brought for him instead.

"I brought this for you, "I said, as if it wasn't obvious. When his gaze dropped down to the book I was finally able to look around and saw the baby grand piano sitting in the corner of his living room. My feet automatically moved towards it and I gently ran my fingers along the very top of it.

"This is beautiful," I said. I spoke my next thought out loud. "Why do you have this if you don't play?"

Eric had walked with me to the piano and he reached over picking up a silver framed picture of a woman sitting at this very piano. By her features it was obvious who she was but he spoke the words anyway and said, "It was my mother's. I inherited it when she died." The sadness that swept across his face had me reaching out before I could think about it and I ran my hand up and down his back in an attempt to soothe him while saying, "I'm so sorry."

He turned and softly smiled down at me saying, "She had cancer, but it was a long time ago." I reluctantly removed my hand from his back as he placed the book onto the piano and said, "Let's cook dinner." He gestured for me to follow him and I fell in line behind him sniffing like a bloodhound on a trail successfully catching his scent in the air. I'm sure my eyes fluttered in delight but they quickly went wide as I took in the sight of Eric's kitchen.

It was a chef's wet dream come true. The cabinets were custom built dark cherry with granite counter tops over a light rustic tiled floor. There was a brick oven in one corner with dual built in convection ovens next to the Viking 8 position cook top. A commercial grade sub-zero refrigerator sat on the opposite wall with a huge window that looked out to a beautifully manicured backyard complete with an in-ground swimming pool and patio. In the center of the kitchen was a huge island with a prep sink on one end and a pot rack made up of matching wood and black wrought iron hanging above it filled with copper pots and pans. I never knew I could love a kitchen this much.

**EPOV**

I stood in the doorway smiling as I watched Sookie stare in wide-eyed wonderment as she looked around my kitchen wishing I had a camera so I could preserve the sight before me. It looked right. It _felt _right. She belonged here and the thought warmed me inside instead of scaring me to death. I longed to run my hands over the curves of her breasts and hips fantasizing of taking her right there on top of the center island. I subconsciously ran my hand over my front pocket that held a condom in case that fantasy had a chance of coming true.

I quickly pushed the thought from my mind before my dick had the chance to give my thoughts away and walked forward getting the ingredients out for tonight's dinner. Sookie smiled putting on the chef's coat I handed her and we spent the next half hour preparing a beef tenderloin with smoked paprika mayonnaise and herb and garlic roasted baby red potatoes. She seemed at ease tonight and appeared a little more adept in her cooking skills than just boiling water, but I still couldn't resist standing behind her at times and placing my hands over hers to direct her movements. Not because she was doing it wrong but because I wanted, needed, to touch her. It didn't escape me that she tended to lean back into me whenever I did it, either.

When everything was in the oven we headed into the living room and sat down on the piano bench together. I was curious about how well she played so I asked, "Will you play something for me first?"

A smile lit up her face as she replied, "Sure." I watched as she placed her fingers on the keys and closed her eyes. Her fingers gracefully danced along the keys as she played one of my favorite pieces, Debussy's Clair de Lune, and I found myself mesmerized watching her. She played with passion and I wondered at her choice of being a teacher when she was talented enough to play professionally.

When she finished she opened her eyes and smiled at me. All I could say was, "Wow," and continued to stare at the enigma before me wondering what other secret treasures she held inside. She blushed at my compliment and slid towards the right so I could sit at the center of the bench. I had a hard time trying to act like I'd never played more than chopsticks but admitted to knowing the different keys.

Every time she would lean in next to me to show me anything I'd lean into her inhaling her wonderful scent. I was pretty sure she knew what I was doing because I would hear her gasp slightly while she paused in her movements until I exhaled. I forced myself to keep my fingers on the piano keys instead of putting them on Sookie which is where they really wanted to be.

Towards the end of the lesson I looked over at Sookie to see her staring at me. Her eyes were fixed onto mine and I found myself leaning towards her while she began leaning towards me. I was just inches from being close enough to kiss her when the timer rang in the kitchen signaling us that our dinner was ready. Unfortunately it also signaled the end of our possible first kiss because Sookie jumped at the sound and quickly stood up. Disappointed, I stood up as well and followed her into the kitchen.

**SPOV**

_I'm such an IDIOT!_ I thought as we walked into the kitchen. He was about to kiss me! I was about to kiss him! Why did I have to jump up from the sound of the timer going off? _Ugh… _

While Eric took everything out of the oven I took some dinnerware from one of the cabinets and set two place settings at the center island. It had four bar stools on one side with a slightly raised ledge that was a few inches higher than the other side. Eric poured some wine into a couple of glasses and set them down next to the plates as I went searching for knives and forks. I stood facing the drawers and asked, "Where do you keep your silverware?"

I hadn't realized Eric was standing right behind me until he reached around and opened the drawer in front of me while pressing the front of his body against my back. I gasped when I felt his erection pressed against me and I grabbed onto the counter with both hands as I wantonly pushed back rubbing my ass against it. I felt Eric grab onto my hips as he spun me to face him and his lips came crashing down onto mine.

One hand held onto the back of his head while my other one snaked around his back holding his body against mine as hard as I could. I had to stand on my tiptoes because Eric was so much taller than me so he picked me up and set me down on the lower part of the kitchen island so I didn't have to strain any longer. He stood in between my parted legs and I wrapped them around his waist to keep him there while sliding forward until I could feel his erection pressed against my core.

Our kiss finally broke when we needed to breathe and he fisted my hair into his hand as his lips traveled down my jaw and along my neck. "Eric", I panted out, "there's something I need to tell you."

"What?" he murmured against my skin. "I already know how to cook," I confessed. I felt him smile against my neck as he brought his face back up to mine. With a twinkle in his eye he admitted, "That's okay, I already know how to play the piano."

My responding laughter was cut short when he leaned forward and kissed me again like he was a man dying of thirst and I was his desert oasis. His lips made their way down my chest as he grazed my breasts with his teeth through the fabric of my dress. "I haven't been able to stop thinking of you since the day we met," he admitted. He raised his head again as he held my hips in place while he rubbed himself up and down my drenched center and added with a hoarse whisper, "I've thought of you _here _as well."

Logically, I knew I'd only known him for a week, but I'd had a crush on him for well over a year and he was even better in person than I had imagined. Logic quickly gave way to lust and desire. Throwing caution to the wind I ran my hand in between us and rubbed his erection through the fabric of his jeans saying, "I'm not a mind reader so you'll have to show me your thoughts."

**EPOV**

It was hard to fathom but Sookie tasted even better than she smelled. I knew I could happily get lost in her kiss for days needing her as my only sustenance. I'd never been so enthralled by someone before and knew I'd do whatever I had to do to make her mine.

I nearly came in my pants feeling her hand rubbing my dick through my jeans but I'm a firm believer that chivalry isn't dead and ladies should go first. I placed wet kisses along her collarbone and down her chest before slowly opening each button with my mouth and then kissing the newly exposed piece of flesh. When her breasts were free I stopped to take one of her nipples in between my lips running my tongue over the hardened peak. Sookie moaned and grabbed onto the back of my head as she pushed her chest further in front of her while slowly grinding her hips against my chest.

I moved my mouth to her other breast and the sounds of her panting breaths mixed with her groans of pleasure were making me impossibly harder so I resumed opening the buttons of her dress with my teeth until it fell away completely. I growled at the sight of her perched on the island wearing nothing more than a scrap of silk between her thighs and her eyes, dilated with lust, watching my every move. I placed each of her legs over my shoulders before licking a trail up her inner thigh until my mouth hovered over her center.

I looked up to see Sookie had closed her eyes with her head hanging slightly back as she waited for my next move so I said, "Look at me lover." Her eyes shot open just in time to see me rip the silk from her body as I dove forward into the sweetest nectar I'd ever tasted. I explored every part of her with my tongue while she writhed in front of me but we never broke eye contact. I could tell by the look in her eyes and the increase of her panting breaths that she was at the edge of bliss so I slipped a finger inside of her, and then another, as I sucked her clit in between my lips laving my tongue over it in rhythm with my fingers.

Her hips moved wildly as her muscles contracted around my fingers and she screamed out as her orgasm took over her entire body. I still couldn't get enough of her taste so I swapped places between my fingers and tongue drinking up everything she gave while I rubbed circles over her bundle of nerves and before long she was screaming again with her second release. The sight of her in rapture was breathtaking and I hoped I'd be seeing it every day from then on.

I licked a wet trail up her abdomen stopping at her spectacular breasts once more while removing the condom from my pocket. I felt Sookie's legs wrap around my waist and she pulled my face back to hers, sweeping her tongue into my mouth while her hands unbuttoned my jeans. She broke the kiss long enough to pull my t-shirt over my head and using her feet she forced the jeans down my legs. Pulling away she took the condom from my hands and stroked my length brushing her thumb over the very tip while leaning forward and running her tongue around my nipple at the same time. I hissed in pleasure while my hips bucked into her hand. She finally ripped the condom open when I moaned in need and rolled it down my length before placing my tip at her entrance.

**SPOV**

Every nerve ending on my body was standing at attention from the sensations Eric was making me feel. He played my body like an instrument he'd practiced on his entire life and I was enjoying the fruits of his labor. I was equally intimidated and excited when I discovered how large he was but he thankfully took his time pushing into me allowing my body to adjust around his while capturing my lips with his own once again. I could taste myself on his lips and tongue while mine battled for dominance with his. He was the perfect height in line with the countertop and in the back of my mind I wondered if he'd had them built that way on purpose but as soon as he started thrusting inside of me in earnest all coherent thought was replaced with the feelings he was producing within me.

He broke the kiss and buried his face in the crook of my neck while he chanted _"Sookie, Oh God Sookie," _which only turned me on more. I could feel him swelling even larger inside of me and when he changed the angle of his thrusts he hit my g-spot and I screamed out _"ERIC!" _as my walls clamped down on him in an involuntary effort to keep him inside of me while the mother of all orgasms rocked through my body causing Eric to roar out with his own release.

XXXXX

Six months later I was standing in the kitchen wearing nothing more than Eric's chef's coat after another satisfying round in his bed and shower trying to salvage our dinner after we'd left it sitting there, yet again, in favor of enjoying each other. I couldn't help smiling happily as I listened to Eric playing Clair de Lune on the piano and thought maybe he would prefer to have dessert first. I took the chocolate syrup from the refrigerator and opened the buttons of the chef's coat. Once I was thoroughly drizzled I sauntered into the living room and smiled when Eric's playing abruptly stopped knowing we were about to christen the piano bench again.

**I'm going to post another chapter of _Expectations _and then head back over here for EMT Eric (mouth to mouth anyone?) Let me know what you think!**


	12. Rescue Me

**A/N: In case you haven't heard, the mysterious "bot" has infected the SVM fan fic community AGAIN and pulled a story from another author's account without giving any way for them to plead their case. The story that was pulled was tame when compared to other stories I've read on this website and only made me realize that the days may be numbered for rest of us, so I intend to start posting my stories on LiveJournal as well as over here. I have an account there (under kjwrit), but I still need to actually set up my journal page and upload my stories which will take some time. Makesmyheadspin is in the process of setting up a LiveJournal community so the readers will be able to follow the authors over there and it will be restricted to those that are 18 years of age and older. **

**In the meantime, I give you EMT Eric. I looked back over the MIU reviews and was surprised to see that (with the exception of voting for Firefighter or EMT Eric) only one person had requested him specifically, which was makesmyheadspin (she's probably going to get sick of me calling her out in what seems like every single chapter I've posted recently, but too bad! *sticks out tongue*). I also want to credit mjb84 for her euphemism of what EMT stands for (you'll see ;) and send out kudos to Shannon911 who is an EMT herself as well as being all around hilarious (you should hear how a Navy uniform effects her!).**

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns them all. I'm just giving them a little mouth to mouth.**

Rescue Me

**SPOV **

I took a sip of my gin and tonic and placed it back onto the bar in front of me. I was mentally berating myself for letting my friend Amelia talk me into going to the bar with her tonight knowing she would ditch me as soon as some random guy caught her eye, no matter how much she protested saying she wouldn't. I glanced over at the dance floor and saw the two of them bumping and grinding thinking if they got any closer they were going to need a condom.

I turned back around telling myself I would finish my drink and then I was out of there with or without Amelia when I saw someone sit on the stool next to me out of the corner of my eye. I turned to see the sexiest man EVER. His blond hair fell to his shoulders with his piercing blue eyes boring into my own. When he smiled at me with a lopsided grin I could swear I felt my panties disappear.

"Hi, I'm Eric," he said. _Oh hi! I think I just lost my panties, care to help me find them? _

Oh, right...out loud. "Hi, I'm Sookie."

"Can I buy you a drink?" he asked hopefully. Before I could answer him a tall, striking brunette came up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder purring, "Eric! Fancy meeting you here!"

Without looking at her, he sighed answering, "Not really since you seem to show up everywhere I go these days." He didn't seemed amused at all.

She threw her head back and laughed like he'd just said the funniest thing ever while he looked at me apologetically. I tried to supress my grin as I sat back waiting to see this train wreck play out. Since Eric refused to even look at her she glanced down at me narrowing her eyes and asked, "Who's your _friend?"_ The way she said _friend _made it clear that she didn't approve. I still had no idea of who she was to him but I wasn't invested in him, yet, so I just grinned wider waiting to see what he would say.

His eyes narrowed at me with such intensity that I almost looked away, but then he opened his mouth shocking me into not moving a muscle. I watched his hand reach out and he wrapped it around my own as he said, "This is Sookie. My fiance." _Huh? _

Mystery Brunette's eyes shot daggers at me spitting out, "YOUR FIANCE! When in the HELL did you get a fiance?" I could tell by the way she was looking at me that she wasn't impressed with me in the least. The feeling was mutual and all it did was piss me off.

When she turned to look at Eric waiting for an answer I winked at him and moved over so that I was sitting in his lap. His arms automatically wrapped around my waist as he pulled me closer and I leaned in giving him a kiss on his cheek. _Good Lord he smelled good! _Looking up at her I said, "Oh, we JUST got engaged. Isn't it exciting?"

From the look of disbelief that shot across her face I knew she didn't believe it and when she looked down at my ring free left hand she smirked asking, "So then, where's the engagement ring?" I felt Eric tense up at her question realizing he obviously hadn't thought this through, but he had no need to worry because I could lie on the fly having come up with plenty of believable excuses explaining away numerous questionable morning-afters to Amelia's dad for years.

I took note of her designer clothes, shoes and handbag along with her acrylic nails, perfect hair and enough jewlery that she could rival Mr. T and said, "I'm not marrying _a ring, _I'm marrying _the man."_ I had only drank half of my gin and tonic, but I felt relaxed enough that I turned my head, pulling his lips to mine, and planted the mother of all kisses on him. It was only supposed to be for bitchy brunette's benefit, but as soon as he twisted his fingers through my hair, holding my head in place as he kissed me back, I got lost in it. I'd marry him just for knowing how to kiss like that!

I vaguely heard Bitchy (her new name) scoff and the sound of her heels stomp away but neither one of us pulled apart. It was only when the need for air became too great did I pull away. From the look in his eyes, and the stiffness I could feel underneath me, I knew he was just as caught up in the moment as I was. But, I'm not Amelia and I don't do stranger sex (although he might be able to convince me otherwise) so I smiled awkwardly and slid off his lap and back onto my bar stool.

He sheepishly smiled back at me saying, "Thanks for coming to my rescue. I've never even dated her but she's been stalking me for the last few weeks. It's getting out of hand."

I shrugged my shoulders saying, "It's no problem. Hopefully now that we're getting married she'll leave you alone. Do you want a church wedding? Ooh..maybe we could go to Vegas! How do you feel about kids? I want LOADS! Of course, I'll have to quit working to take care of them all. We can afford that right?"

I schooled my features as best as I could but when his eyes bugged out and the color drained from his face I lost it and laughed so hard I couldn't breathe. I choked out, "You should see the LOOK on your face!" I grabbed a cocktail napkin to dab at the tears that had leaked out of my eyes waiting for the shock to wear off of him.

**EPOV **

I saw her the moment I walked into the bar. I had just gotten off of a 12 hour shift and wanted to unwind over a beer. There had been an eight car pile up on the interstate during rush hour and we'd gone back a few times taking those with the worst injuries away in our ambulance first and then going back for the others. I only stopped in the bar once in a while, but I knew I'd never seen her before. She was a knockout even though she looked a little annoyed at first when she was looking at the dance floor.

When crazy Felicia walked up I had reached my limit putting up with her stalker ways having already told her numerous times that I wasn't interested, but that only seemed to fuel her behavior. She was the daughter of one of the benefactors of the hospital where I worked and I was unofficially informed that I was NOT to be rude to her. I felt the relief wash over me when Sookie played along and after that kiss she blessed me with I was considering proposing to her for real.

We sat talking for a couple of hours and I found out pretty quickly that, in addition to being gorgeous, she was smart and funny too. I laughed out loud when her drunk friend Amelia came over with some guy named Bob attached to her saying she was leaving with him. Sookie took out her phone, demanded to see Bob's driver's license, and then took a picture of it and another one of him before she let Amelia get into a cab and leave with him. After they left she just shook her head saying, "It's necessary. She's the poster child of what NOT to do."

Since we had followed them out of the bar Sookie said that she needed to head home to get some sleep since she had to work the next morning. I was ecstatic when she agreed to see me again and we exchanged phone numbers before she gave me a chaste kiss on the lips and then got in her car. She never even finished the one drink she had when I first got there and switched to ginger ale during the couple of hours we'd been sitting there, so I knew she wasn't drunk.

I stood there watching as she pulled out of the parking lot and she gave me one last smile and a wave before she went on her way. I had just turned to walk towards my car when I heard the crash. I turned to see Sookie's car smashed in on the driver's side and facing in the opposite direction she'd been heading. I ran over as people started spilling out of the bar from the sound of the crash and yelled for someone to call 911.

As I got closer to her car I looked over at the other car that had hit her and saw a slightly stunned, yet triumphant looking, Felicia behind the wheel. I reigned in the rage I felt at that moment and focused solely on Sookie. Her airbags had deployed but she looked banged up. I tried to pull open the driver's side door, but it was useless. I ran around and pulled open the passenger's door when I smelled the gas. There was smoke coming from under Sookie's car so I unlatched her seatbelt and pulled her from the car while trying to keep her head and neck still.

As soon as I got her out of the car I placed her on the grass far enough away from her car that she wouldn't be in danger when I saw that her lips had turned blue. I put my ear down to her mouth and my hand on her chest, realizing fairly quickly that she wasn't breathing, and I immediately started mouth to mouth resuscitation. When she started breathing on her own a few minutes later I was so relieved I could've cried.

When the police and ambulance arrived I stayed by Sookie's side until I heard one of the eye witnesses describing how they saw Felicia's car idling in the parking lot across the street and then flooring it into Sookie's car as soon as she was passing by. I started yelling and screaming at her that she was fucking crazy while the cops held me back as I tried to get to her. I never thought I would've been the type to hit a woman but at that moment I would've ripped her to shreds if they'd let me go.

After they took Felicia away in handcuffs, I rode in the ambulance with Sookie to the hospital and they let me stay with her in the ER even though I wasn't her family. The fact that I worked there played a huge part of why I was cut so much slack and I was thankful for it. Sookie was in and out of consciousness and I had no idea of who to call for her other than Amelia. I'd had the forethought to grab her purse out of her car and quickly scrolled through her cell phone contacts looking for Amelia's name.

I was both frustrated and amused when I saw that none of her contacts had real names with each one identified by, what I assumed was, the nickname she had for them. I was pleased when I clicked on "My Sexy Fiance" and saw my number. I took a wild guess and crossed my fingers when I called "Hookah" and left a voicemail after hearing Amelia's name on the recording.

It turned out she had a mild concussion, along with a few nasty bruises, and didn't fully wake up until the following morning. She had brief moments when she'd wake up and ask where she was or what had happened, but she'd always fall right back asleep within a few minutes. I eventually fell asleep in a chair pulled up next to her hospital bed with my head resting on the bed and her hand wrapped up in mine. I woke up feeling Sookie running her free hand through my hair and sat up, startled at first, not knowing where I was. It all came back to me the moment I saw her and as I opened my mouth to apologize for involving her with that pscho-bitch Felicia she smiled and said, "You're the best fiance ever. Did you sleep here all night?"

"It was the least I could do." I rubbed the sleep from my eyes before looking at her and saying, "I'm so sorry for involving you with that bitch." The police had talked to me at the hospital and I told them how she'd been stalking me for weeks and what had happened that night. I really didn't think she'd go off the deep end like she had or else I would've done more to get her to stop. They were charging her with attempted vehicular manslaughter and put her in the psych ward of the parish lock-up.

Sookie furrowed her eyes at me and squeezed my hand asking, "Did you _know _she was crazy?" After I shook my head 'no' she continued, "Then it's not _your _fault." I looked at her in disbelief having convinced myself from the time of the accident that she would blame me, rightfully so, and hate me for life. She tried to shrug her shoulders and the reulting wince on her face made my eyes narrow in anger at Felicia, but she ignored it and said, "I'm alive with nothing more than a few bruises to show for it. Besides, I was thinking of getting a new car anyway."

She gave me a small smile but I was still angry and yelled out, "You almost DIED! You stopped BREATHING! I had to do CPR until you finally came around!"

I couldn't believe it when she actually rolled her eyes and muttered _so dramatic _under her breath, before she squeezed my hand again and sincerely said, "Thank you for saving me. I guess it's a good thing my fiance is an EMT."

A moment later Amelia came running into the room wearing the same outfit she had on last night, only her shirt was on inside out, with tears streaming down her face apologizing over and over for not being there sooner. When Sookie looked a little befuddled I explained that I'd left a voicemail on her cell. When Amelia left to get Sookie a cup of coffee, she giggled asking, "How did you know which number was hers?"

I shook my head answering, "I took a WILD guess. You DO realize that your contact list is no help whatsoever to anyone other than you?" She just grinned wider and I couldn't resist asking, "But, I saw that MY number is listed under 'My Sexy Fiance'?" I leered at her without giving her a chance to reply and asked, "You think I'm _sexy?" _

Her resulting laughter sounded like windchimes on a spring day when she answered, "I'm sure every female you've ever come across thinks you're sexy. Besides, I wouldn't be marrying you if I didn't think you were sexy." She winked at me to let me know she was kidding, but I was surprisingly okay hearing her say it. I shook my head thinking _You JUST met her for christsakes, you can't possibly be considering marrying her already._ The scary thing was I knew a part of me was doing just that.

**SPOV **

Poor Eric looked so upset when I woke up. I think he honestly thought I would blame him, but how could I? He was just as much a victim of that crazy woman as I was. He was so sweet to have stayed with me all night long and looking at the chair he'd slept in I knew it couldn't have been comfortable.

I still couldn't put my finger on what exactly it was, but we just seemed to click instantly. I felt as though I'd known him for years instead of just hours and was completely at ease when I was with him. I was normally pretty shy until I got to know someone, but that wasn't the case with him from the moment our eyes met.

I was sad when he had to leave to go to work while feeling bad knowing he didn't get much sleep because of me, but he assured me he was fine. I was positively giddy a few hours later when my phone beeped alerting me I had a new text message and I saw it was from "My Sexy Fiance' asking what kind of wedding cake we were going to have.

We texted back and forth for a while until we finally settled on a chocolate chip pound cake with a buttercream frosting. I was released from the hospital that afternoon and after Amelia dropped me off at home I took the best shower of my life getting rid of the hospital smell that had permeated my skin. I wasn't surprised when Eric called later on that evening asking if he could stop by to check on me. I didn't hesitate, telling him my address, and he showed up thirty minutes later with chinese take out in one hand and a chocolate chip pound cake with buttercream frosting in the other. _This man is perfect, _I thought and led him into the living room.

We started off sitting on the couch with several inches in between us while we ate, but had moved decidedly closer to one another when he gave my his panty-disappearing lopsided grin as he fed me a piece of the cake. "We need to practice for the big day," he said, as if I needed convincing. When it was my turn to feed him some cake I contemplated smashing it all over his face and by his quirked up eyebrow he knew I was considering it. I grinned innocently while slowly bringing the cake to his lips and gently placed it into his mouth but a dab of frosting ended up on the corner of his mouth.

Our eyes stayed locked while I leaned forward and just as I flicked my tongue out to capture it he turned his mouth towards mine taking the frosting from my tongue with his own. I grabbed onto each side of his head and deepened the kiss as our bodies automatically melded together, but when he wrapped his arms around me in an attempt to bring me closer I gasped at the unexpected pain radiating across my chest.

Eric let go of me instantly and pulled back saying, "I'm sorry, are you okay?" I sat back next to him on the couch catching my breath telling him that I was fine, but he didn't believe me. I was only wearing a t-shirt and pajama pants and he placed his hand on the hem of my top asking, "May I look at your bruises?"

Having already seen them myself when I took a shower I knew he wasn't going to like what he saw, but just nodded anyway knowing it was going to bother him either way. He lifted it high enough to see the purple welt that crossed my abdomen from the seat belt and then pulled it back down before moving the collar of my shirt over far enough that he could see the rest of the bruises across my chest.

His breaths came out harder and his face flushed in anger as he clenched his fists in his lap, so I did the first thing that popped into my head to try to snap him out of it. I climbed into his lap starddling his legs and pulled him back into a kiss. He kissed me back but his hands just rested lightly on my waist and I could tell he wasn't into it as much anymore.

I pulled back, tucking a strand of hair behind his ears, and asked "Are you going to act like this on our honeymoon because it's not what I had planned AT ALL," ending with a small smile.

The corners of his lips twitched upwards, but that was it until he said "I'm angry that she hurt you. I'm angry that you were hurt because of _me." _I barely inhaled in preparation of my 'it's not your fault' speech when he leaned forward and gave me the sweetest, most tender kiss possible. After he pulled back his grin was back as he said, "I should let you get some sleep. You need to give your body a chance to heal because, trust me, you're going to need a healthy body to make it through the honeymoon." His eyes were smoldering towards the end of his sentence and his voice dropped an octave catching me off guard. I knew my eyes had glazed over and all I could say was, "Oh."

He smirked knowing that he'd affected me and I followed him to the door in a daze where he gave me one last kiss before leaving.

I ended up seeing Eric every day, at least for a few minutes, for the rest of the week and he always left me wanting more. I burned inside wanting to be with him all of the time and would miss him whenever we weren't together. I had no doubt that I had fallen for him hard, but I was convinced he had fallen for me just as hard. He worked 12 hours shifts so he didn't have a lot of spare time and had to work overtime sometimes because they were short handed, but he always called or texted me whenever he had a few minutes to spare with the majority of our texts consisting of planning our imaginary wedding. If we were ever in need of convincing someone we were engaged we'd be able to provide them with plenty of details and a part of me wondered if the playful planning would one day become the real deal.

We had a "real" date a week after we'd met and had gone to dinner, but I could tell he was tired from working so much and convinced him to come back to my place afterwards so we could just relax and hang out. I'll admit that I had an ulterior motive hoping that we could go a little further in the making out department, like all the way further, but when I came back into the living room after changing into a tank top and shorts anxious to show off my bruise free skin he had fallen asleep on the couch. I shook my head and smiled whispering, "Is this what I have to look forward to once we're married?" I pushed him until he was lying down and lifted his feet onto the couch. Once his shoes were off, I turned the light off and snuggled up next to him falling asleep within minutes.

He had to be at work early the next morning and woke me with a kiss before he left. We'd gotten worked up a few times over the week kissing and touching each other but there was never enough time for us to follow through. I was getting blue walls from his sextastic kissing skills and if this continued much longer I was going to go insane.

I was excited a couple of days later knowing Eric would be coming over that night and spent extra time primping and grooming myself until my skin could probably reflect the headlights of oncoming traffic in the dead of night. So, when he called me a few minutes before he was due to get off work to tell me he had to stay because someone had called out sick, I wanted to either scream or cry. I knew it wasn't his fault and told him as much, but I was disappointed to say the least.

Eric texted me a little while later to apologize again, but I told him it wasn't necessary. I only felt a tiny bit bad when I laid out the red lace bra and barely there matching panties, that I'd intended on wearing that night, on my bed and took a picture of them before sending the pic to Eric's cell phone. I laughed out loud when he called me less than a minute later growling out, "You're not playing fair fiance."

"Well I'd say I'm sorry, but it would be a lie." I was still chuckling, but changed the subject before either one of us got all worked up by asking, "So has it been busy for you tonight?"

He let out a big sigh before answering, "Not even a little bit. It's been so quiet my partner ditched me to go hit on his favorite nurse in the ER. I've been sitting out here in the ambulance bay all by myself for most of the night."

I had a VERY bad idea, but went with it anyway and started stripping off my pajamas and pulling on the red underwear set. I made a big production of yawning out loud before saying, "I guess I'll go to bed now." Eric wished me a good night, telling me he'd call me the next day and we hung up.

I ran to my closet and dug out a cotton summer dress that I balled up and stuck in my purse before slipping on my belted rain coat and a pair of heels to head out the door. The hospital was just a few blocks from where I lived so I was there in less than ten minutes. I peered through the door before opening it and entered once I was sure there was no one around. The ambulance was backed into the bay and I could see the rear doors were open while hearing someone moving around inside of it. I took a deep breath praying to God it was Eric inside and walked around the back of the ambulance.

Eric was facing away going through the supplies in the back of the ambulance and I stood there for a moment admiring him in his uniform. I'd seen him in it a few times and thought he looked even hotter than he normally did when he was wearing it. He didn't see me right away so I cleared my throat to get his attention. I must've startled him because he jumped before spinning around and I was impressed at how gracefully he'd accomplished the jump/spin move he'd just completed considering how tall he was.

He smiled when he realized it was me asking, "Sookie? You scared me there for a second. What are you doing here?"

I couldn't believe what I was about to do, but I opened my rain coat revealing the fact that I was wearing nothing but the red bra and panties underneath and said, "I thought we'd practice for our wedding night. You know, like we practiced the wedding cake." I smirked at him as I watched his eyes glaze over while they travelled up and down my body. He swallowed hard, but he didn't move a muscle so I raised my eyebrow and followed it with, "I'm sorry Eric, but if I'm going to buy a car I'd certainly take it out for a spin." I let the coat drop to the ground before adding, "So what do you say, _care to go for a ride?"_

He moved faster than I could see and the next thing I knew I was laying on the gurney in the back of the ambulance with Eric on top of me. I laughed at his unexpected move but it was quickly silenced when he placed his mouth over mine. He swept his tongue into my mouth while his hands started roaming all over my body and I could feel his straining arousal against my thigh. I moaned out loud when he kissed his way across my collarbone before moving lower.

His hands gently caressed my breasts over the fabric of my bra while he licked his way down the center of my cleavage. He traced a wet trail along the edge of my bra before opening the hooks with a flick of his fingers at my back. Pulling the straps from my arms, he tossed it aside and then went back to work with his mouth on my breasts.

His tongue worked its magic over each of my breasts, alternating between licking, sucking, and flicking its way over my hardened peaks. I moaned and writhed beneath him when I felt his hand slip lower making its way inside my panties. I felt him growl against my skin when he slid his fingers through my wet folds and he kissed his way farther down my torso until he was centered between my legs.

Slowly, he kissed along my inner thigh while making his way across the fabric of my panties and over to my other thigh before kissing his way back to my center. He peeled the fabric down and once he had them off of me completely I pushed up on my elbows and our gazes locked onto each other as he leaned forward licking me along the length of my folds. I gasped at the sensation he was causing within me and my hips moved involuntarily against his face. He licked and lapped and swirled his tongue up and down and it was all I could do not to scream out loud knowing it would echo within the ambulance bay.

Eric was still fully dressed in his EMT uniform and watching him work me with his mouth made me think that, in his case, EMT stood for Exceptionally Marvelous Tongue. He eventually concentrated on my small bundle of nerves while slipping a finger inside of my core. He added a second finger and my hips started bucking against his hand as he continued to thrust them in and out while suckling my nub. My vision started blurring with flashes of color and light appearing before my eyes when he hooked his fingers rubbing over that special spot inside of me and I screamed out "ERIC!" as I came around his fingers.

**EPOV **

Everything about Sookie was amazing. I couldn't believe she showed up wearing nothing but her underwear underneath a coat to surprise me. Little did she know, I often fantasized about her and I in the back of the ambulance when I was at work and had been thinking of that very thing when she showed up. I often thought of what it would be like being buried inside of her from the moment we met, but she meant so much more to me now. It had been killing me all week that we never seemed to have enough time together and I was more than happy when she appeared out of the blue tonight.

I knew she had a gorgeous body but once she was completely naked in front of me, the word 'gorgeous' didn't do her justice. Watching her come unravelled while she was watching me almost had me coming in my pants from that alone. Sookie was still a little out of it while she was coming down from her orgasmic high but she sat up and quickly started ridding me of my uniform. She moved to the side indicating that I should lay down on the gurney and I was more than happy to oblige her.

She smiled up at me as she stalked her way up from my feet and paused over my cock pressing her tongue along the base of it and tracing the vein leading to the tip. I moaned from the feel of her hot wet mouth wrapping around the tip while she slid her lips down as far as she could go. She wrapped her hand around the base and continued to slide up and down while adding more suction and swirling her tongue over the top before repeating the process all over again. I nearly came when she moaned on her way back down again and barely gasped out, "_Sookie, I want to come inside of you." _

She released me with a smile after one more stroke and reached into her purse which was lying on the floor next to her retrieving a condom she'd had inside of it. She ripped it open and rolled it over me before straddling her hips over mine. I sat up and kissed her as she placed my tip at her entrance and slowly lowered herself onto me. We moaned into each other's mouths with each of us holding still until we simply had to start moving.

Sookie rocked her hips against me while I gripped her waist and thrusted into her over and over. I could feel her muscles spasm around me tighter and tighter and knew I would be following along right behind her so I slid one hand in between us and rubbed circles over her clit while my mouth latched onto one of her breasts. I flicked my tongue across her nipple while sucking it in between my teeth and felt it when her muscles locked down around me as she threw her head back and screamed out my name causing me to explode deep inside of her.

We sat there wrapped around each other waiting for our breathing to slow down and she pulled back giggling while strying to smooth down my hair. "You have sex hair," she explained and then attempted to move off of me. I held her in place as she resisted saying, "Eric! Someone could show up at any minute!"

I kissed her chest and mumbled against her skin, "I don't care." She was absolutley perfect. Everything about her was perfect and I didn't want her to leave. Not now, not ever. She was 'the one'.

I looked up at her and said, "Marry me."

She smiled and asked, "Vegas or church?"

I looked deep into her eyes and said, "I'm serious."

My heart swelled so much it nearly burst in my chest when she looked deep into my eyes and said, "So am I."

**Damn, now I want EMT Eric too! So many Erics, so little time. Anyhoo, TB SPOILER ALERT!**

**Is anyone else feeling hopeful about Sunday's episode? Beel didn't fess up to Sookie! He outright LIED when she asked him about his stalker file! Could it be? Will we actually see some non-dreamsequence ESN in our future? And ASkars and Bosho are fighting in public? Be still my jealous heart... If I magically drop 20 pounds and my mortgage miraculously gets paid off this will be the Best Week Ever! But, I'm bummed about Franklin. I blame it all on Tara, she's good for NOTHING! Oh well. Next up on Men in Uniform...Paging Doctor Northman, Doctor Northman please dial extension 69. *giggles***


	13. Healing

**A/N: A few of you have requested Doctor Northman, so here he is. I seem to have a medical themed career thing going on, but this chapter is nothing like the last one. Doctor Eric has issues, but it's a safe bet that a dose of Sookie will set him on the road to recovery.**

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns them all. I'm just opening up some old wounds.**

Healing

**EPOV**

I stood in the shower letting the water beat down over my head dreading the morning ahead of me. It would be my third court appearance before the judge, and after she let me off with a warning and a hefty fine the last time I was there, I doubted she would be as lenient today. It was all so fucking stupid anyway.

Over the last year I'd become an insomniac so whenever I couldn't sleep I would climb in my car and go for a drive to pass the time. I enjoyed the rush I would feel when I drove fast. Really fast. Big fucking deal. It's why I bought a fucking sports car. Don't they have REAL criminals to catch? I'm not hurting anyone. Given my family's history, I've NEVER had a drink and I don't do drugs. For the last year, driving at breakneck speeds was the only thing that made me feel alive. It was the only thing that made me feel anything.

_The last year. A year ago TODAY._

I quickly shook that line of thinking from my head, not wanting to go down that road right now, and finished washing up in the shower. I didn't realize how long I'd spent under the water until I walked into my bedroom to get dressed and saw the time. I quickly pulled on one of my designer suits, cursing the fact that I didn't have time for a cup of coffee, and took off out the door. I ended up making it to the courthouse with five minutes to spare. My lawyer was waiting for me on the sidewalk and from the disapproving look he was giving me I guessed he didn't appreciate the fact that I'd obviously sped there based on my tires squealing when I zipped into the parking lot.

We walked into the courtroom right on time and remained standing as the judge entered the courtroom. She sat down behind the bench and glanced down at the docket in front of her. From the way her eyebrows raised up and her lips formed into a tight thin line, I'd be willing to bet she didn't approve of seeing me before her again.

"DOCTOR NORTHMAN," she barked out, "Did you miss me so much you just HAD to do something that would get you in my court again?"

I had several different replies on the tip of my tongue ranging from flirty to downright nasty, but I figured she was asking a hypothetical question so I kept my mouth shut. She read over the police report while shaking her head in disbelief. I couldn't believe it either when I'd been caught considering I was going around 120 mph down the interstate. Stupid helicopters. When she finally looked up her eyes narrowed while staring at me and I could practically SEE the wheels spinning in her head.

She looked down at me over the rim of her glasses and said, "It would seem you have too much time on your hands and rather than having you fill that time with speeding all over our great state I think you should put it to better use. Obviously a warning and paying a fine weren't enough of a deterrent therefore I'm sentencing you to 1000 hours of community service to be performed at the free clinic downtown with you working there 16 hours a week at a minimum."

By the look on her face she was pleased at what had to be the look of horror on my face. "But I'm not a family practitioner," I protested. "I'm a plastic surgeon!"

"Bully for you Doctor Northman. I assume you performed your residency in a hospital, correct?" After I nodded she continued, "Well then, I'm sure it will all come back to you. If you'd like, you could always opt for door number two and serve 1000 hours in the county lock up, but it will not be served 16 hours a week. It's your decision."

_Fuck! _Like that would be a hard choice. "Fine, I'll work at the clinic." She still looked very pleased with herself and it was all I could do to not glare at her when she said, "I thought so." Her eyes took on a much harder look when she finished with, "You won't have _any_ options if you appear before me again Doctor Northman. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes your honor," I acknowledged like a properly chastised school boy. The only thing my lawyer had been good for was getting the judge to allow me to keep my driver's license, but it would be gone if I was caught speeding again.

I couldn't get out of there fast enough and I was in my car pealing out of the parking lot in no time. I avoided getting on the interstate knowing I would be hard pressed to not floor it and stuck to the city streets just trying to clear my head.

I'd been dreading today knowing it would bring back all of the memories of what happened a year ago. I'd done a pretty decent job of forcing the thoughts from my mind for the most part, but I knew there would be no way around it today.

I turned up the radio and tried to immerse myself in the music, but when I found myself pulling into the cemetery I knew it was pointless since my subconscious was obviously working against me. I chose to not fight it and parked my car, resigned to deal with it now that I was finally there. I hadn't been back since the funeral. I knew I should've come and I had tried to, many times, but I could never go through with it before now.

I got out of my car and slowly made my way over to where she was buried. Along the way I'd noticed flowers that were left at many of the graves scattered throughout the cemetery and felt bad for not thinking to bring any with me. It was just one more thing I couldn't do right.

I felt my eyes well up with tears as soon as I read her name on the headstone. _Pamela Northman. _It was the first time I'd seen it since it wasn't ready until several weeks after the funeral. _June 11, 1991 – June 12, 2009. _Eighteen. She was only fucking eighteen years old. The events of that day flooded my mind and I fell to my knees letting the memories beat me down like I deserved.

Pam had been my younger, and only, sibling. I was fourteen when she was born, so we weren't that close growing up, but I still loved her even if I never said the words out loud. We came from parents that were well off financially, but they were mean spirited alcoholics and as soon as I turned eighteen I took off and never looked back.

When Pam was fourteen I got a call from her in the middle of the night screaming and crying so much that I couldn't understand anything she'd said. When I got to our parents' house there were police cars everywhere and I found Pam sitting in an ambulance covered in blood. That evening our parents had another one of their drunken pissing contests, but it had apparently gone too far. Our father shot and killed our mother before turning the gun on himself. Pam had heard the gunshots from her room, where she had retreated to during the fight, and the blood on her clothing was theirs.

She had always had a strong personality, but I knew it was her 'brave' face that she put on whenever she was around other people. She was much more quiet and reserved when it was just the two of us and we were very much the same in that respect. Neither one of us ever let anyone get too close after learning early on, thanks to our parents, the damage that could be inflicted if we let that happen.

After our parents died I took her home with me and became her legal guardian. She never talked about what happened after that first night I'd come to her and I never asked. I figured she just wanted to forget it so I didn't bring it up. After some time had passed we fell into our own routine with her going to school and me building my practice. I wasn't around much, allowing myself to get caught up in my work as well as spending my nights with many of my grateful, and newly improved, clients. I took care of Pam financially, but I didn't take care of her emotionally not realizing at the time that she needed that the most.

Pam's high school years were difficult for her with her always getting in trouble at school, whether it was her fighting other students or skipping classes days at a time. I knew she was acting out but I never faulted her for it knowing everything she'd been through. If I was honest with myself, I also knew it was because I was too busy living my own life to bother finding out what was wrong with hers.

I had come home that fateful night a year ago in the early morning hours after having spent the evening with a newly buxom brunette I'd worked on a few weeks earlier. I normally went straight to my room, but as soon as I walked into the house I could feel that something was wrong. After checking the lower level of the house I went upstairs and peeked into Pam's room. She was lying on her bed with the ear buds of her iPod stuck in her ears and I almost shut the door thinking she was sleeping until I heard the rasping breaths leaving her body.

When I got closer I shook her shoulder trying to wake her up and when she didn't stir I knew something was wrong. That was when I saw the empty pill bottle lying on the floor next to her bed. I picked it up and saw from the label that it had contained 60 pills of vicodin and had been prescribed to her by me. I'd never prescribed anything for her and that was my first and only clue that Pam had stolen one of my prescription pads. Her breathing had stopped and I called 911 while immediately starting CPR trying to resuscitate her lifeless body. When I lowered my mouth to hers to blow air into her lungs one of her ear buds fell out of her ear and I could hear a haunting instrumental version of 'Happy Birthday' playing on her iPod.

Realizing, only then, that I had forgotten her birthday the tears were flowing freely from my eyes as I continued to try and save her, begging her to fight, to live, but it was too late. She was already gone. When the paramedics arrived they cut off her shirt to try and shock her heart into restarting and that's when I saw the cuts on her body. She had been cutting herself and I never knew.

I was a doctor and I should've been able to save her. To heal her, both inside and out, but I failed at both and now I was left with a gaping wound inside of me that couldn't be seen or fixed. I tried not to think about it, but in the late night hours I would lie awake in bed unable to think of anything else. That night haunted my dreams every time I closed my eyes so I avoided sleeping as much as I could. I no longer had the desire to date the vain materialistic women that had occupied my time before that night, but I kept my practice just to fill up the hours of the day. I inherited enough money from our parents that I wouldn't have to work, but I knew I needed something to do or else I'd be left reliving that nightmare in my mind all day every day.

It took me a while before I could bring myself to stand and walk away from her grave. I had wanted to ask for her forgiveness, but I couldn't bring myself to do it because I didn't think I deserved it, so instead I told her the only thing I wished she had known, what I wished I had told her, _I love you._

It was three days later on a Saturday that I walked into the free clinic and saw her for the first time.

**SPOV**

Saturdays were always so busy at the clinic. I volunteered my time, working there every weekend, out of the gratitude I felt for the people there that had helped me two years earlier. Bill had been my boyfriend at the time and we had been out at a bar having drinks when we were confronted by his ex-girlfriend Lorena. At least I _thought _she was his ex, but apparently they'd still been seeing each other unbeknownst to me. My temper got the best of me and I called her a few choice names, humiliating her, before I went into the bathroom to cool off. On my way out of the bar I told Bill to shove it and stormed outside by myself intending on catching a cab home.

I had only walked a few blocks when she came out of nowhere and attacked me with a knife. Lorena sliced each side of my face before I could raise my hands to protect myself and then she proceeded to cut up my arms and torso before a passerby stopped their car and pulled her off of me. I was bleeding profusely and I would've died if I hadn't been just across the street from the free clinic. They rushed me inside and took care of me until I could be transported to the hospital.

Lorena went to jail and I never saw Bill again, not that I wanted to. I had scars from each cut of Lorena's knife as well as the ones left inside from both her attack and Bill's betrayal. I doubted I would ever get over it completely because I was reminded of both every time I saw my reflection. I started saving as much money as I could spare to have plastic surgery to try to minimize the scars, but I was a long way away from having enough. A part of me wasn't even sure that I wanted to be rid of the scars. They'd become my metaphorical suit of armor keeping the outside world away from me while also reminding me of what can happen when you let someone in.

I had gotten used to the looks I got from people seeing me for the first time with a lot of them having the gall to ask what had happened to me even though they were complete strangers. I had been so outgoing and free spirited before, but now it made me keep my head down and avoid having eye contact with anyone unless it was absolutely necessary. I also hadn't dated anyone since that time, not that I was asked out by anyone anyway. My ability to trust someone with my heart had been taken away and I wasn't sure if I would ever get that back.

I was a librarian Monday through Friday, but on weekends at the clinic I was a whatever-needed-to-be-done kind of volunteer. I answered phones, made sure people signed in, answered whatever questions I could, handed out brochures, filed, typed, made coffee…you get the idea. It made me feel better helping those that had helped me, even if it meant that I had to see the spot where I was attacked every time I came here.

I had been jotting down a message on a notepad when I saw someone in my peripheral view come to a stop in front of the desk I was sitting at. Without looking up I asked, "Can I help you?"

His voice was a rich baritone when he replied, "I'm Doctor Northman. I'm here to, uh…volunteer?"

I'd seen the memo on Doctor Northman and knew he was involuntarily volunteering his time because we had to keep track of his hours spent here and report back to the judge each week. I had no idea of what he had done to get in trouble, but I didn't call him out on it and instead I stood up and motioned for him to follow me. After I had him sign in on the doctor's log I gave him a quick tour of the clinic showing him where everything was and set him up with a few exam rooms. I explained that there weren't enough volunteer nurses all of the time so he would have to do most of the work himself, but I would check-in the patients and bring their files back to him whenever he was ready to begin. I was just about to walk away when I heard him say, "Excuse me, I didn't get your name."

I looked up for the first time to see his face and my breath caught in my throat. He was hands down the most handsome man I'd ever seen. His blond hair was pulled back at the nape of his neck and based on the length I'd guess that it would just brush the tops of his broad shoulders when it was down. He had a strong jaw line and high cheekbones set directly under the bluest eyes I'd ever seen. He was wearing a green scrubs shirt and matching pants with a stethoscope draped over the back of his neck and even though the scrubs were baggy I had no doubt there was something mighty fine to be had underneath it all.

I was sure my mouth was gaping open and yet I couldn't seem to make myself stop. It was only when his one eyebrow quirked up that I was able to finally spit out, "Sookie. Sookie Stackhouse." I felt the blush rising from my chest and I immediately looked down and turned tail where I took off down the hallway before he could say anything else.

I could feel my heart fluttering inside of my chest just thinking of how handsome he was but I quickly shook the thoughts from my mind knowing he was WAY out of my league, and would've been even before I was covered in scars.

I studiously avoided looking him in the eye for the rest of the day as I shuffled people back and forth to the exam rooms he was using and before I knew it the day was over. The next shift of volunteers had arrived so I went back to tell Doctor Northman I was leaving for the day and when I rounded the corner headed towards the exam rooms I ran right into his chest and an _"Unf"_ sound came out of my lips. The scent of his cologne washed over me while his arms shot out in front of him grabbing my shoulders to steady me on my feet and I could've sworn I felt an electrical charge as soon as his skin touched mine.

Without thinking, I looked up to see him staring down at me and I was once again stunned into silence getting lost in the deep blue of his eyes. I didn't know him at all, but I couldn't miss the sadness behind them and I fought the urge of wanting to wrap my arms around him and telling him everything would be okay. I caught myself before acting on that thought and took a step back while still maintaining our mutual gaze and said, "I'm so sorry." And I was, for running into him as well as for whatever it was that made him look so sad.

"Me too," was his only reply. I wondered if we were having the same internal conversation as well, but I simply said, "I'm done for the day. The next shift has arrived, but I'll be back tomorrow." I wanted to know if he would be back too and before I could ask he answered my unspoken question with, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." The corners of his mouth twitched up into an almost-smile causing mine to do the same.

**EPOV**

I couldn't stop thinking about Sookie all day long. Something about her, from the moment I first saw her, called out to me and I felt the tightness in my chest release its hold on me for the first time in a year. She was beautiful, even with the scars on her face, but it there was more to it than that. I just didn't know what it was. If I was a spiritual person I would've thought my soul had found its other half, but I didn't subscribe to that kind of mumbo jumbo so I was left without a way to describe how she somehow commanded my attention.

I spent the majority of the day seeing patients while simultaneously analyzing Sookie's every move, or rather her indifference towards me. When she first looked at me she seemed shocked or stunned, though I don't know why, but the rest of the day she never once looked me in the eye. I know because I would stare at the door as soon as I could hear her coming my way with another patient in tow. She would simply show them into the exam room and place their file on the desk before turning to leave again. I stopped myself, more than once, from reaching out to try and stop her from leaving but I always managed to catch myself in time. All I knew was that I was drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

When she ran into me in the hallway I was immediately engulfed in her scent and I'm pretty sure my eyes fluttered in response. When my hands grabbed onto her shoulders I felt a zing shoot up each of my arms and when she looked up at me I was transfixed by her stare. Just looking into her eyes I felt a sense of peace wash over me and I wanted to pull her into an embrace more than I wanted anything else in the world.

I wasn't trying to look down her blouse, but with my height advantage I couldn't help but notice the scars she had on her chest in addition to her face. The long sleeves and slacks she wore covered the rest of her body and I wondered if they held scars as well. I couldn't imagine what must have happened to her, but I knew the scars I could see were done by a knife. Whoever had stitched her up didn't do a very good job because her scars could have been much less visible if they were closed the right way. I wanted to offer to do that for her but I couldn't figure out a way to bring it up, nor did I know if that was even something she wanted to do.

When she said she was sorry, I assumed for running into me, I said out loud what I'd been thinking in my head, "Me too." I felt a shudder travel down my spine at the thought of her being hurt like that and I wanted to tell her how sorry I was that she had to go through that kind of trauma. She seemed so delicate and soft spoken that I wanted to wrap her up in my arms and protect her from the world so she'd never be hurt like that again.

Just being in her presence relaxed me and I didn't want to let her go, but I had no choice when she took a step back. I was elated inside when she said she'd be back the next day so I made sure I would be there as well. I thought about the day I'd spent at the clinic while I drove home that night and I actually felt pretty good about what I'd accomplished that day. It was, for the most part, normal routine visits but the people I treated were nothing like the clients I saw at my practice. These were _real_ people with _real _symptoms that consisted of more than a few wrinkles and pockets of unwanted fat and I actually had a good time using my head again as I made my diagnosis. I had a sense of fulfillment that I hadn't had in a long time.

That night I climbed into bed and slept through the entire night for the first time in a year. It was the first night I dreamt of Sookie Stackhouse. It wasn't a sexual dream, but we were a couple nonetheless and being with her made me feel whole. Maybe for the first time ever.

I was nervous going to the clinic the next morning knowing Sookie was going to be there. I knew dream Sookie wasn't the same as 'real' Sookie, but the dream I had of her the night before had seemed so real that I was confused by the lack of her presence when I woke up. I resolved that I would try to find out more about her today and perhaps even see if I could get her to join me for lunch. I never had problems getting a woman to agree to go out with me, but something about Sookie made me weak in the knees so I wasn't counting my chickens just yet.

She was sitting at her desk when I walked in and when she looked up at me and smiled I felt my heart skip a beat. It was like she radiated pure light and I felt the warmth spread through me like I'd just stepped into the rays of the sun. A responding smile crept onto my face for the first time in a long time when she said, "Good morning Doctor Northman."

_Too formal_, "Please, call me Eric." Her smile got even brighter when she said, "Alright, Eric." Hearing her say my name was like music to my ears and I started to seriously question what was wrong with me. I'd never reacted to a woman this way and I had so much baggage I couldn't even begin to hope that she would be willing to come anywhere near it.

We both stood there just smiling and looking at each other, encased in our own little bubble of existence, until someone walked up asking Sookie a question. I set up in the same exam rooms I'd used the day before and when Sookie showed up a few moments later with a patient in tow she made sure to meet my gaze and smile before walking away again.

It seemed that the clinic was never NOT busy, but there was a definite lull in traffic a little after one o'clock so I took the opportunity to go find Sookie. My heart sped up and my palms were sweaty in response to the nervousness I was suddenly feeling when I finally found her sitting at her desk, but as soon as she looked up into my eyes I felt at peace once more. Before I could lose my nerve I said, "Things here seemed to have slowed down for a bit so I was thinking of grabbing a bite to eat. Would you care to join me?"

I held my breath waiting for her response and I could see her contemplating her answer as she chewed on her bottom lip which made my nerves come back in full force. I had no idea of what I would do if she said 'No', so I was thankful when she finally said, "Okay." Sookie suggested a small deli around the corner from the clinic and when we set off on foot across the street I noticed her visibly shudder the closer we got to the sidewalk. It was summer in Louisiana with the temperature hovering in the 90's and she was again wearing pants and a long sleeved shirt so I knew she wasn't cold.

"Are you okay?" I asked before I even knew my mind had formed the words.

She physically shook herself and answered, "Yes," in a voice so small that I wouldn't have known she had said anything if I wasn't looking right at her. My bullshit meter was sounding off loudly, but I didn't know her well enough to try and pry so I went along with it when she changed the subject by asking how I liked working at the clinic so far.

"I like it," I answered and was surprised that I actually meant it. I guessed my facial expression gave me away because she said, "You seem surprised. Why is that?"

We had reached the deli at that point so we placed our order and once we were seated with our food I finally answered, "I just didn't think I WOULD like it." I debated on telling her the reason why I was there in the first place, but I quickly decided that I needed to tell her the truth if I had any hope of trying to have a real relationship with her.

"I was given the option of performing 1000 hours of community service by working at the clinic or spending that time in jail. It wasn't a difficult decision to make." I saw her eyes widen at my confession and I hung my head in shame waiting for her response.

"Do you mind if I ask what it was you did to be put in that position?" I lifted my head to see her chewing on her bottom lip again and she quickly followed up with, "I'm sorry if that's too personal, you don't have to answer."

**SPOV **

I watched the lines form on his face as he furrowed his eyebrows while having an internal debate over answering my question. I was about to change the subject when he inhaled deeply and replied, "I got caught speeding." There had to be more to it than that, so I said, "1000 hours of community service or jail seems a little harsh for just speeding. Were you going THAT fast?"

He smirked a little when he said, "Yes, I was." The smirk disappeared when he continued, "I've had trouble sleeping for the last year so I would fill my time speeding up and down the interstate. It was the third time I appeared before the judge so she wasn't happy to see me again."

I wondered if something happened that would cause his insomnia but I didn't ask. And Eric didn't strike me as the cocky daredevil type, but it wouldn't be the first time I was wrong about someone. That thought had me subconsciously tracing the scar along the right side of my face and I didn't realize I was doing it until he asked, "Would you mind telling me how you got those scars?"

It wasn't like it was a big secret since everyone that worked at the clinic knew what had happened to me so I told him. I waited for the pity to show up on his face, but he only looked sad. "I can't imagine what that must have been like for you. Is that why you were upset when we crossed the street in front of the clinic?" I could only nod in response. I watched his eyes travel over the scars on my face and then to the ones on my chest that weren't covered by my shirt causing me to reactively raise my hand to cover the exposed skin on my chest and my head to fall forward slightly so may hair hung down over my face while my eyes dropped to the table in front of us.

I watched his hand reach across the table and grasp the hand I had resting next to my plate. I lifted my eyes to see him staring back at me and he said, "You don't have to hide your scars Sookie, you're beautiful regardless." I felt the tears well up in my eyes because I could see that he actually meant what he'd said. No one, outside of my family, had ever told me I was beautiful and I never realized it until he had said the words.

This man, who was handsome enough that he could be with any woman he chose, thought I was beautiful. The tears trickled down from my eyes as I wondered how that was even possible. I felt a small hole in the protective armor around my heart open up just a little as I quickly brushed the tears from my face. I was stunned when he said, "My specialty is plastic surgery. And, like I said, I think you're a beautiful woman but if they really bother you I could make them less visible."

I didn't know what to say and I didn't know if I was ready for that yet or if I'd EVER be ready. All I could come up with was "Maybe." Thankfully, he didn't say anything more about it and we finished our lunch. Eric told me about his practice and I told him what I did for a living. I discovered we had a mutual love of books and we discussed different authors and genre's and he laughed when I admitted to having a fondness for trashy romance novels. He made me feel better by admitting to having an extensive comic book collection.

After we got back to the clinic I couldn't stop thinking about him. Eric was the first person I'd met since the 'incident' that had somehow worked his way past my protective shield and I was surprised that it didn't scare me as much as I thought it would. My heart fluttered in my chest when he smiled at me each and every time he saw me for the rest of the afternoon and I was feeling a little sad at the end of the day knowing I wouldn't be seeing him again until the following weekend. I didn't have the self-confidence to ask him out myself so when it was time to leave I found him in the exam room and merely said, "Well, I guess I'll see you next Saturday?"

The smile that had been on his face disappeared with my question and I wondered if he didn't plan on coming back to the clinic until he said, "I hope I'm not out of line, but would you like to go to dinner with me sometime? Tonight even, unless you have other plans?"

"No, I don't have any other plans, I'd love to!" I couldn't get the words out fast enough and was rewarded with another smile from him. We agreed that he would pick me up around 7 o'clock and I wrote down my address and phone number for him. He wrote down his number for me as well and I practically floated away on cloud nine out of the clinic.

There was a knock on my door at exactly 7 o'clock and I opened it to find Eric standing there dressed in a pair of black slacks and a blue button down shirt that matched his eyes exactly. The collar was open and it fit him perfectly showing off his broad chest and flat abs. I swallowed the drool that formed in my mouth before it had a chance to spill out and quickly grabbed my purse so I could follow him out to his car.

He opened the door so I could get into his cherry red corvette and as soon as he got in I said, "I can see how it would be easy to speed in this car."

I'd only meant it as a joke but I could tell it bothered him so I immediately said, "I'm sorry. I was just joking." He looked over at me and smiled softly saying, "I know. There's just more to it than that." He didn't say anything else about it until we were seated at the restaurant. My heart broke for him when he told me what happened with his sister and how he felt responsible for all of it. I reached out and grasped his hand, rubbing soothing circles over his skin telling him that it wasn't his fault. I had obviously never met his sister but I would think that she wouldn't want him to torment himself like he was and I told him as much.

**EPOV **

I felt the majority of the weight I'd been carrying with me since Pam's death lift away with Sookie's words. I knew it wasn't just the words she'd said, but the fact that SHE was the one to say them. She was able to soothe me in a way I'd never felt before and when I was rewarded with a simple yet sweet kiss at her doorway at the end of the night I actually felt happy. It was such a foreign feeling to me that I couldn't place it right away.

The next few weeks seemed to fly by. I spent every weekend working at the clinic with Sookie and we would talk on the phone or see each other several times during the week. Our relationship was slowly progressing forward in the intimacy department, but I was more than willing to wait until she was ready to take the next step.

I had opened up more about my childhood and the circumstances that brought Pam to live with me and with every touch, every hug, and every kiss from Sookie the wound inside of me healed a little more. It was on the Friday before our unofficial two month anniversary that I stopped at the cemetery on my way to having dinner at Sookie's place. I'd bought two bouquets of flowers, one for Sookie and one for Pam. I placed it next to her headstone and apologized for every wrong I'd ever committed against her. With tears falling down my face I finally found the strength to ask for her forgiveness and in that moment I felt it. I could feel her presence surrounding me and hear her voice saying the words I'd never hoped to deserve, _I forgive you. _

Sookie could tell something had happened as soon as she saw my face and without saying a word she pulled me over to her couch and sat me down. She crawled onto my lap and wrapped her arms around me, running her fingers through my hair as I cried against her chest. I had no idea of how much hurt I'd kept bottled up inside until it all came pouring out.

When the crying subsided she pulled away and wiped the tears from my face. She looked into my eyes, her own filled with concern, and I opened my mouth to try to say something but I couldn't seem to find the words yet. I just needed to be here with her, to feel her body against mine and she seemed to understand because she silently leaned forward and placed a soft kiss directly over my heart before placing another on my lips.

She didn't pull away and my hands found their way into her hair as my tongue swept into her mouth. The overwhelming need I felt for her poured into that kiss and she responded in kind pressing her body against mine as she tightened her embrace around me. I hardened underneath her instantly and when she started grinding her hips against me we both moaned in unison. Her hands pulled up the hem of my shirt and she pulled back slightly as she pulled it over my head with me doing the same with hers.

I was temporarily frozen by the sight of her ample breasts encased by a red lace bra in front of me and I knew I could never surgically match the perfection God had graced her with, but her thoughts were somewhere completely different and she immediately raised her hands up to cover her scars.

I took her hands in mine and pulled them away from her body saying, "No Sookie. You're beautiful."

**SPOV **

Eric leaned forward and kissed along each and every scar I had whispering the word _beautiful _over and over against my skin and with every pass of his lips, every whisper of his words, I felt them disappear from my mind. I had certainly hoped our relationship would become a sexual one as well, but I'd thought we would be in a darkened bedroom so he couldn't see my disfigured skin. No one other than the doctors I'd been to had seen it since the assault, but he really did make me feel beautiful.

His hands reached around and unlatched my bra from behind before pulling the straps from my arms. He kissed along my chest over to one breast, swirling his tongue over my hardened peak and I gasped while arching my body towards him when he pulled it into his mouth. My fingers dug into his back as I continued to grind on top of him and my whole body trembled when he growled against my skin.

The urgency from before quickly returned and our hands began running all over each other touching everywhere we could possibly reach. I pulled his lips back to mine and mumbled out, "Bedroom," into his mouth. Eric wrapped his arms around me as he stood up and carried me to the bed with my body wrapped around his. He laid me in the middle of the bed, never breaking our kiss, and I unbuttoned his pants pushing them down as far as I could with my hands before I finished the job with my feet.

Eric sat up so he could remove my pants as well and I could feel the heat on my skin everywhere his eyes travelled over my body, but I didn't get to ponder that for very long because he immediately dropped down in between my legs and I watched as he kissed his way up my inner thigh before hovering over my center. I barely had time to inhale before his eyes locked onto mine as he leaned forward and parted my folds with his tongue licking along their length before repeating the process again and again. My eyes fought to roll back in my head but Eric's gaze wouldn't let them go so I continued to stare into the endless pools of his blue eyes watching as he systematically reduced my body to a quivering pile of jello. I felt the coil low in my body burst and I screamed out with its release while my vision blurred to nothing more than flashes of swirling color and light.

I felt him kissing his way back up my body and when my vision returned his face hovered directly above mine. Our eyes locked onto each other again as he slowly pushed his way into my body. I felt my eyes widen at first, shocked at his size, but he took his time allowing my body to adjust to his until he was fully sheathed within me. A small gasp escaped my lips as I felt my pulse throb against him inside of me and my muscles twitched along his length still recovering from my orgasm.

Eric leaned forward and with his lips pressed against my own he whispered, "Beautiful," once more as he slowly withdrew from my body before pushing his way back in. Our hips continued to rock against each other and with each thrust of our bodies I felt the remaining armor I'd held onto crumble away until there was nothing left standing between Eric and I. The overwhelming love I felt for him filled me up until tears spilled out of my eyes and I gripped his hips harder, pulling him into me as I lifted my hips towards him, needing to be as close to him as I could possibly be.

I felt him swell even larger inside of me and the sensation was enough to push me over the edge once more. I cried out his name as my walls locked down trying to keep him inside of me and his body tensed as he yelled out with his own release spilling out deeply inside of me.

**EPOV**

I couldn't believe the intensity of the emotions coursing through my body as Sookie and I made love. And that what it was, making love. It was a first for me and I never wanted or needed anything as much as I wanted and needed her. This beautiful angel beneath me was far more than I deserved, but I knew I would do anything to keep her. I could see the emotions on her face as clearly as if she'd said the words aloud. I wiped the tears from her eyes while feeling them form in my own eyes as I told her, "I love you."

XXXXX

Sookie and I were married on Christmas Day and I closed my practice to start working at the clinic full time. She accompanied me most days in the beginning but when our daughter Pam was born the following year she stayed home to take care of her. She never brought up wanting me to fix her scars, and although I no longer saw them when I looked at her I couldn't help but asking why. I can't describe the depth of love I felt, both from and for her, when she looked me in the eyes and said, "You already did."

**I can't tell if this is an emotional story for everyone else or if my pathetic choking up is due to the fact that Aunt Flo is on her way to visit. (TMI?) Anyway, I have no idea which Eric will be next, but it'll be a uniform one. If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears (well, technically eyes)!**


	14. Dear American Soldier

**A/N: I know I already did a US Marine Eric in One Thousand Words but I still haven't put him in his dress uniform and I REALLY want to. Almost as much as I REALLY want to take it off of him. *grins* So, I hope you'll enjoy this next installment of Men In Uniform as much as I enjoyed writing it. I give you SSGT Eric Northman, United States Marine Corps. In the words of reviewer Dr. Debbie, "Semper sexy!"**

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns them all. I'm just giving them some paper and a pen to start out with.**

Dear American Soldier

**SPOV**

I started passing out sheets of paper to each of the fourth graders in my class while they did their best to settle down after having just come back inside from recess. Once everyone had a new sheet of paper on their desk in front of them I returned to the front of the class and said, "Who can tell me why we celebrate Veteran's Day?" November 11th was just a few weeks away.

One of my more outgoing students raised his hand and when I called on him to answer he said, "It's so we can thank a soldier that served our country. My Grandpa went to Vietnam when he was in the Army."

"Very good," I replied. "It's so we can give thanks to the men and women in the armed forces that have served, or are still serving, our country. So because Veteran's Day is just a few weeks away I thought it would be nice for our class to write a letter to an American soldier that is still living far away from home to let them know we appreciate the sacrifices they're making for our country. Everyone can write their own letter and I'll collect them once you're done and mail all of them out together. Since we don't know their names, you can just address it to 'Dear American Soldier' and they will be given to any of the soldiers."

I watched as the class as a whole all bent their heads towards their desks and began writing while answering the occasional question of what they could include in their letter. While they worked on their letters I sat at my desk and wrote one of my own.

_Dear American Soldier,_

_My name is Sookie Stackhouse and I'm a fourth grade teacher at Bon Temps Elementary School in Bon Temps, Louisiana. In honor of veteran's, like yourself, my class and I are writing letters of thanks to all of you for the sacrifices you're making in serving our great country. I grew up listening to stories my grandfather would tell of his time serving in World War II and from my own father's tales of the time he spent in Vietnam so I know, through them, of the toll a war can take._

_So I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you, for all that you do. Having been born and raised in Bon Temps, I can't begin to imagine what it must be like for you to be so far away from home or the worry your family and friends must be filled with every day that you're gone. The opinions people have of wars and the motivations behind them have no bearing on how the members of our armed forces should be honored and respected for having the selfless courage to put their lives on the line so that those very same people have the freedom to voice their opinions._

_I will be mailing all of our letters out together and will enclose our address here at the school if any of you would like to write a letter back to our class. And, if there's anything you should happen to need while you're away, please let me know. i would be honored to do what I can to help make your lives a little easier while you're so far away from home._

_Once again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you._

_Sincerely,_

_Sookie Stackhouse_

**EPOV**

My ears were still ringing from the blast of the explosion that leveled the building in front of us. Once the dust had settled we began picking through the rubble making sure there weren't any enemy insurgents left alive inside. We'd tracked them here from some intelligence gathered by the sources we had in the area that this was the hideout for the group that bombed the checkpoint leading to our base of operations two days earlier, killing two of our fellow Marines in a suicide car bomb right outside the gates.

My hearing was slowly returning to normal when I heard a faint whimpering sound coming from underneath a larger piece of concrete. I got on my hands and knees and started moving pieces of rubble away with my hands to find a small puppy cowering underneath. Her whole body was shaking and she growled at first, afraid of me, so I removed my glove and slowly reached inside with my bare hand. She backed away as far as she could until there was nowhere else for her to go. I stilled my hand in front of her to allow her to smell me and eventually coaxed her out talking to her like she was a baby.

I picked her up and checked her for any injuries she might have and it was only when a loud crash sounded behind me from pieces of the rubble shifting did I realize she was deaf because she gave no indications she had heard the sound. I looked around at the barren landscape and didn't see where she might have come from or who she might belong to. I knew dogs were used for fighting here and were often cruelly killed just for sport. I held her up to my face and when she leaned forward and licked my nose I knew there was no way I was leaving her behind.

She was a mutt of sorts, but I had no idea what breeds she could possibly be. She was small enough that I could tuck her into the front of my flack jacket and left her head poking out of the top like she was in one of those baby carriers I'd seen people wearing back home. As soon as all of the guys saw her they each came over talking baby talk and cooing at her causing me to chuckle because they were some of the toughest men I knew and to see them all melt at the sight of a puppy was pretty hilarious.

Officially, soldiers weren't allowed to bring animals onto the base, but in reality no one would say anything as long as the animal didn't get in the way of us fulfilling our missions. The commanders would walk by, give her a pet on the head, and then continue on like they never saw her so the phrase 'Ignorance is bliss' definitely applied.

It was two days later that the mail arrived and we were all given a stack of letters written by school kids back in the States. I never got any mail because I'd grown up an only child, left in an orphange after my parents died in a flash flood while driving home one night when I was seven. No one wanted an older kid to adopt and I had a lot of anger issues back then after my parents died so I didn't do well with any of the numerous foster families I'd been shipped to. Eventually they stopped trying to place me with anyone and just let me ride it out until I turned eighteen and joined the Marines. The Corps was my family now.

The sense of family I felt in the Marines rid me of my anger issues so it all worked out for the best. And now that I had this little furball to take care I was worried about what would become of her when the time came for us to leave. I was also worried about the amount of crap she was being fed from the chow hall by all of the guys in my platoon. She needed to eat dog food, but it wasn't like I could run to the grocery store to buy her any.

I grabbed one of the letters from the stack to read while I tried to think of a way to get some dog food around here, so it was like an unanswered prayer when I read the letter from Sookie Stackhouse. I was truly touched by her heartfelt thanks and hoped that her offer of sending something here wasn't an empty promise so I immediately sat down and started to write.

_Dear Miss Stackhouse,_

_I just received your letter and I wanted to let you know that I appreciate your heartfelt thanks. It's nice to know that there are people out there that understand what we're doing has nothing to do with what the political talking heads spout off about on the morning news shows, but is instead done out of a sense of duty and honor to serve our great nation._

_I wish I could say that there are people in my life that worry for my well being while serving overseas, but sadly that isn't the case. I was orphaned as a young child and grew up in an orphanage so the Marine Corps is my only family now. That being said, I was hoping your offer of support still stands. _

_Two days ago I found a puppy in the rubble of a building that I soon discovered was deaf. Being an orphan myself, I couldn't bear to leave her there to fend for herself and brought her back to the base with me. While I'm worried about what will become of her when it's time for me to return to the States, my immediate concern is her diet. The post exchange doesn't sell dog food and I'm certain the scraps she's been eating from the chow hall aren't giving her all of the nutrition she needs. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, would you consider shipping over some puppy chow? I don't have anyone else in the States that I could ask to do this for me so I would be grateful if you would. I'm enclosing some money to cover the cost of the food and shipping as well as my own heartfelt thanks for both your kind words and your offer of assistance._

_Sincerely,_

_SSGT Eric Northman, USMC_

**SPOV**

It was almost two weeks after I'd mailed our class's letters to the soldiers that I received a reply from SSGT Eric Northman. My heart broke for him reading that he had no one in his life that cared or worried for him being overseas. I actually cried when I read about him finding the puppy and saving her from being an orphan like himself. As soon as school was over I drove to PetSmart and loaded up on puppy chow, a dog bed, dog treats, toys and a collar as well as metal food and water dishes.

I packed it all up inside of a cardboard box, along with a few bags of snack items that wouldn't melt in the desert heat, and before I sealed it to take to the post office I sat down and wrote another letter to enclose inside.

_Dear SSGT Northman,_

_I received your letter today and I must admit my heart broke a little while reading it. I can't imagine what it must have been like for you to grow up without your family at your side. I'm also an animal lover so the fact that you saved the puppy from what was more than likely a horrible fate touches me beyond words._

_I've enclosed everything I could think of that you might need to take care of her for the time being and I'm willing to send you whatever else it is you might need while you're gone. I would be honored if you would consider me your friend and you can be assured there's at least one person back home that is worried for you well being. _

_Since the mail seems to take a long time to make it's way back and forth between our locations I've included my personal email address if you would like to correspond with me._

_Your friend,_

_Sookie_

**EPOV**

I was shocked when the mail arrived and I was handed a huge box. I opened it to find the dog food along with a bunch of other things for the puppy as well as some things for me. I was always envious when the other guys in my platoon would get a care package from their loved ones back home and I couldn't believe how touched I was finally receiving one of my very own.

I found an envelope at the bottom of the box and opened it to discover a letter from Miss Stackhouse along with the money I'd sent her for the dog food. I couldn't believe the emotions I felt reading her letter knowing there was someone out there that cared if I lived or died.

I set up Bonnie with her new bed and she immediately went to work on one of the rawhide treats Sookie had sent. I took a picture of her and uploaded it to my laptop while I sat down to send her an email.

_Dear Sookie,_

_I just received your care package and letter today and I wanted to thank you. Your thoughtfulness touched me more than I can say. I never received a care package until your's and I was surprised how much it really meant to me. I would love to correspond with you and you do me the honor in considering me your friend._

_I guess since we're friends, I should tell you a little more about myself. For one, the puppy now has a name. I named her Bonnie after your hometown Bon Temps. That means 'good times' in French if I'm not mistaken and she's nothing if not a 'good time.' All of the guys in my platoon have unofficially adopted her as well and she's the most spolied dog I've ever seen. If you knew the men I'm serving with I'm sure you'd get a kick out of seeing them using baby talk with Bonnie, especially since she can't hear them, when they're tough as nails any other time._

_I've been in the Marine Corps for ten years now having joined up as soon as I turned eighteen. I always thought I would make a career out of the military, but I find that I'm longing for a different kind of life now that I'm getting older. Moving every few years is getting old and I'd like to find a place to put down roots since that's something I've never experienced. I also have Bonnie to consider now if I can find a way to get her out of the country. I'm quite attached to her and I don't want to leave her behind when my deployment ends in June. My enlistment in the military will be up at that time as well so I'll have to figure out what it is I want to do with my life after the Marines._

_I guess you probably hear a lot of good ideas from your students on what they want to be when they grow up. Care to give me some examples because I could use some ideas. Have you been a teacher for very long? Do you find it a satisfying career? I earned my Bachelor's Degree through the GI Bill while I've been in the Marines so if you have any thoughts you'd like to share I'd be grateful._

_Once again, thank you for your thoughtful care package and I hope to hear from you soon._

_Your friend,_

_Eric_

_P.S. I've attached a photo of Bonnie so you can see how much she appreciates your gifts. And if you have any idea of what kind of mutt she is I'd like to know what they are because I have no clue._

**SPOV**

I got home from work and fired up my laptop while I went through grading the tests from the pop quiz I'd given earlier in the day. I was excited when I saw I had an email from Eric Northman. Something about him tugged at my heartstrings. I felt bad that he had no sense of 'home' other than the Marine Corps especially since it appeared staying in the Marines wasn't something he wanted to do.

I also worried about Bonnie's fate when his deployment ended and he had to return to the States. For some ridiculous reason I also felt elated that he thought enough of me to have named her after my hometown. I clicked on the attached photo and was a little disappointed that it was of just Bonnie because I wanted to be able to put a face with Eric's name. As soon as I thought of a way to get that without seeming like I was just dying to know what he looked like, which was the case more than I'd actually like to admit, I replied to his email.

_Dear Eric,_

_I'm glad to hear that Bonnie enjoyed her gifts and she looks very adorable in her new bed. I would guess we'd have to wait until she was fully grown to be sure, but just from looking at her I would guess she's some sort sheppard/terrier mix. And I'm very touched that you chose to name her after my hometown._

_If you're looking to put down roots, in my opinion Bon Temps, or a town like it, is the way to go. It's small enough that everybody knows everyone else and people tend to look out for one another. That's not to say that there isn't any crime around here, but it mostly consists of bored teenagers finding a way to amuse themselves. It's also close enough to the larger towns that you don't have to go very far to find whatever it is that you need. The only drawback is that there aren't very many places to meet new people and having grown up here I have no desire to date any of the single guys that I grew up with. There's just no way to forget what they were like as young boys and, sadly, most of them still act the same now as they did when they were ten years old. Amusing? Yes. Marriage material? No._

_I wish I could give you suggestions on what possible careers would be a good fit for you, but I guess the one question you'd have to answer is, what one thing in life is it that brings you joy? The saying goes that if you do what you love for a living you'll never have to work a day in your life and I can say that's a true statement. I love children and I love being able to teach them things and seeing their eyes open up to the endless possibilities in life. I have a great sense of accomplishment at the end of the year when they leave my class with more knowledge than they came in with at the start of the year._

_And you're correct in assuming that fourth graders have a lot of different ideas on what they want to be when they grow up ranging from doctors and lawyers to NASCAR drivers and superheros. In fact, one of my students informed me he wanted to be a Viking when he grew up. I've attached a photo of our class from the Halloween parade we had at the school the other day. The Viking is on the left and I'm the one dressed as a fairy (in case you couldn't pick out the one adult in the picture. :))_

_I'd love to see what you meant about the men in your platoon not matching their exteriors with their baby talk. And feel free to include yourself in the photo. It would be nice to have a face to go with your name._

_Until next time, stay safe._

_Your friend,_

_Sookie_

**EPOV**

I couldn't stop staring at the picture Sookie had sent me. She was absolutely the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. And knowing how sweet and caring she was made her all the more attractive. I gathered from her email that she was single and unattached, but I just couldn't see how it was possible that no one had staked their claim on her yet.

I grabbed Bonnie and took her outside while calling the guys to come stand around me. As soon as I had our picture a couple of them took Bonnie to play fetch while I went back inside to upload the photo and email Sookie.

_Dear Sookie,_

_I've attached a photo of the guys in my platoon along with Bonnie. As you can see they all look like they're big and bad, which they are, so trust me when I say the amount of baby talk going on around here is pretty funny. I'm standing in the center holding Bonnie so now you have a face to go with my name._

_I hope this isn't too forward of me to say, but I find it hard to believe that you're unattached. Not only are you sweet, caring and intelligent, but you're beautiful as well. After seeing you in your fairy costume I'll never be able to look at Tinkerbell the same way again. :)_

_It's funny that you mentioned Vikings because I've been called that once or twice in my life. I guess it's not a far stretch since I'm 6'5" with blond hair and blue eyes, but I really don't see myself living a life on the open sea and raiding small villages. ;) I guess I'm not really sure what my passion in life would be. I never had the opportunity to explore any extra curricular activites growing up in the orphanage and I've been a Marine for my entire adult life. The military isn't really the place to explore your own identity because you're taught to act as a whole and not as an individual._

_Bon Temps sounds like a good place to settle down though. I imagine it would be nice to be able to know your neighbors and be familiar with everyone in town. As for meeting new people, I can think of one woman there that I wouldn't mind getting to know better myself. I'll have the upper hand on all of the other single men vying for her attention since she didn't know me when I was ten. Plus I've got Bonnie in my corner so I already have an in._

_All joking aside, I have to admit that there's something about you that touches me in a way that I've never felt before. I'd like to try and explore what there might be between us if you feel the same. If not, I'll completely understand and would love to still be able to call you my friend._

_Yours,_

_Eric_

**SPOV**

Holy Christ on a stick, Eric Northman is an Adonis! I've always had a thing for a guy in uniform, I mean what woman doesn't? But the sight of him in his desert fatigues with a tan, towering over everyone else while holding a puppy? Instant swoon material! And he thinks I'm beautiful! And he signed his email 'Yours' as in MINE. I know I hardly know him, but I was more than willing to get to know him. How could I not? He's caring and brave and sweet, not to mention he's a walking demi-God among us mere mortals. I couldn't reply fast enough.

_Dear Eric,_

_I have to agree that after seeing the other men in your platoon, the thought of them using baby talk to a deaf puppy is pretty funny. And after seeing you, I too find it hard to believe that you are unattached as well. I find myself thinking of you often and you've pulled at my heartstrings from your very first letter. I would love to explore the possibility of what there might be between us. And just knowing you as I do now, I would imagine knowing you as a ten year old wouldn't put me off either._

_Since you already know how much I love Bon Temps I can hardly disagree that it's a wonderful place to live. Perhaps when your deployment ends you would like to come for a visit. I live in a farmhouse that I inherited when my Gran died a few years ago and a Stackhouse has lived in it for the last 150 years, so there's definitely family roots here for me. I would love it if you'd like to stay here if you visit so I can try to show you what it's like to live in a small town. There's plenty of room here since I live alone and Bonnie is, of course, welcome to stay as well._

_Speaking of Bonnie, I looked into what needed to be done to ship an animal from your location back to the States. Not surprisingly, a lot of military members have done what you did with Bonnie and wanted to send them home. There's an organization that deals with all of the rules and regulations as well as shipping the animals to the United States and I've sent away for more information. I hope that they'll be able to help getting Bonnie sent home with you and I'll email you as soon as I find out what needs to be done._

_Stay safe._

_Yours,_

_Sookie_

Over the following months Eric and I emailed each other every day and I found myself falling in love with him. I hoped he felt the same way about me too. I found out it would cost $3000 to get Bonnie shipped back to the States and I presented my class with an idea of helping to raise the money. We adopted Bonnie's cause as a whole and dubbed it ''Operation Bring Bonnie Home". The children volunteered to help raise the money with lemonade stands and bake sales on the weekends. We even got permission from the principal to hold a car wash at the school and sold pins with Bonnie's picture on it. The other teachers chipped in as well and before long we had enough money to ship her here. Eric was moved, to say the least, and all of the guys in his platoon wrote letters to the students thanking them for all that they had done to help bring Bonnie to the United States. The planes bringing the animals out of the country only flew when there were enough of them to make the cost of the bringing them here worth it. It turned out that Bonnie had to leave before Eric's deployment ended, but I volunteered to keep her until he could make it back. His email after he took her to the plane nearly broke my heart, but I tried to assure him that I would take really good care of her until he got back.

She arrived in early May and I fell in love with her instantly. She was very smart and took visual commands without any problems. I brought her with me to school one day and took pictures of her with the kids and emailed them to Eric which seemed to perk him up even though he missed her terribly.

Eric was due to arrive in Louisiana at the end of June and we agreed he would be staying with me for an undetermined amount of time. I secretly hoped that he would never leave. We hadn't actually met each other in person, but I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. I was just too afraid to give a voice to those thoughts and chose to adopt a wait-and-see approach to our relationship.

I was feeling pretty bummed on the last day of school knowing I wouldn't be seeing my kids all summer and brought Bonnie in with me so they could all see her again. I hadn't gotten any emails from Eric in several days because he was going through his out-processing, whatever that was, that he needed to do since he wasn't re-enlisting in the Marines and it would be another week and a half before he would be coming here.

So, when the door to my classroom opened at ten o'clock that morning and Bonnie excitedly ran over to the person walking in, I was stunned to say the least.

Eric stood there, a giant amongst the fourth graders, smiling. He was wearing his dress uniform with the blue coat and white pants and I know my mouth was hanging open at the sight. I wanted to tackle him to the ground and do things that shouldn't be witnessed by fourth graders.

**EPOV**

Sookie was even more beautiful in person than I could've possibly imagined. She had her hair thrown up in a messy, yet sexy, bun on top of her head and was wearing a summer dress that clung to her body in all the right ways. I'd fallen in love with her through our emails and I hoped she felt the same. I hadn't told her yet, but I had no intention of leaving Bon Temps. The way her whole community rallied around Bonnie's cause proved to me that this was a good place to live and I wanted to be a part of it. I also wanted to be a part of Sookie's life and I knew this was where her life was.

Sookie seemed stunned to see me and I hoped it was worth the little white lie I told her about when I'd be arriving. From the smile on her face I would venture a guess that she wouldn't fault me for it. It was evident that Bonnie hadn't forgotten me and I bent down so she could lick my face while simultaneously beating me with her wagging tail. I wasn't sure what would be an appropriate greeting to Sookie in front of her class so I was more than pleased when she strode over to where I was standing, threw her arms around my neck, and pulled me down for a kiss. The 'ooohs' and 'aahhhs' from her students was the only thing that kept me sane enough to not rip her clothes off.

She blushed when she pulled away from our kiss and smiled looking up at me. I spent the rest of the morning entertaining the kids with stories of Bonnie overseas and the way the guys would react to her. I also answered questions about being in the military and what it was like in a war zone, making sure I kept it G-rated which Sookie seemed to appreciate. When the final bell rang I stood to the side as the kids filed out with Sookie hugging each one and wishing them a good summer vacation.

As soon as we were alone she came over and gave me another kiss, much more R-rated and was quickly getting close to NC-17 before we finally pulled away from each other. We grabbed Bonnie and headed to her car for the ride back to her house with both of us holding hands the entire time. As soon as we were inside she pulled me down for another kiss and I picked her up and held her against the wall while our hands ran all over each other. She pulled away long enough to ask, "Will you think any less of me if I suggest we move this to my bedroom? I know we only, technically, just met, but honestly I feel like I've known you my whole life." Her eyes told me she was worried about what I would think of her suggestion, but they also told me what she felt for me was the same thing I felt for her.

I set her down on her feet and held her face in my hands. Leaning down I placed a gentle kiss on her lips before looking in her eyes and confessed, "Sookie, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. Thoughts of you, of us, is what got me through all of those months overseas and if you'll have me, I want to stay here and build a life with you. I love you."

Tears spilled out of her eyes as she pulled my lips back to hers and said, "I love you too." After that, there was no holding either one of us back. She started unbuttoning my coat while pulling me up the stairs and we ended up leaving a trail of the clothing we shed all the way to her bedroom. She pushed me to lie down on my back in the center of her bed and I was mesmerized by the sight of her wearing nothing more than a smile as she moved up my body.

My arousal was quite obvious and when she locked her eyes onto mine while she dipped her head down to run her tongue up the length of my erection I nearly came undone. It had been a LONG time since I'd had sex so when she slid her mouth down the length of me I had to fight off the urge to explode right then and there. The sensation of her gliding her mouth up and down while flicking her tongue over the tip was almost too much to bear, but when she moaned on the next down stroke I hissed out "_Sookie..."_ and had to pull her off of me knowing I wouldn't be able to last.

She looked confused by my actions so I quickly assured her by saying, "You're going to make me explode but I want to take care of you first." I held onto her and quickly turned us so that she was underneath me causing her to squeal out with a giggle. The giggle died as soon as I latched on to her breast with my mouth and turned into breathy moans instead. I couldn't get over how beautiful she was and counted my lucky stars that she loved me too.

Once her breasts had equal attention I moved farther down her body and as soon as my tongue made its frist pass in between her legs she cried out. I had to hold her hips down while I continued to lick along the length of her folds before pulling her small bundle of nerves in between my lips. I gently sucked and stroked it with my tongue while I slid one of my fingers inside of her. She was slick with her arousal so I easily slid in a second finger and continued to pump them into her while working her clit. It wasn't very long before I felt her muscles clamp down and she yelled out, _"ERIC!" _with her release.

I slowly kissed my way back up her body and smiled down as I watched while her eyes began to focus again. She pulled me back down for another kiss while her hand began to stroke along my length before placing me at her entrance. It took all of my concentration to still my body and ask, "What about protection?"

I watched a blush bloom on her cheeks when she shyly said, "I've been tested and I'm clean. And I started taking birth control pills a couple of months ago...just in case."

_Thank God!_ I thought because I didn't want to have to stop. I kissed her again saying, "I'm clean too." The words had barely left my lips when she pushed her hips up into mine and I started sliding into her. Many pants and hisses later I was finally inside of her all the way and held still just enjoying the feeling of being inside of her until our hips couldn't hold still any longer.

I looked down into her eyes as I continued to thrust into her and I felt like I was finally where I belonged. Not only side of her, but just being with her. She was my home.

Sookie's eyes started to glaze over and I could feel her inner muscles starting to spasm around me when her whole body tensed with her climax as she screamed out my name and triggering my own orgasm with a hoarse yell coming from my lips.

I leaned down and kissed her once more before moving to her side while she curled her body around mine. The feelings and emotions swirling through me while I stared at her were indescribable. Tears fell from both of our eyes when she cupped my cheek in her hand and whispered, "Welcome Home."

**So there you have it. I hope everyone liked the second USMC Eric. I know I did, but I'm not exactly objective. :) I'd also like to take this opportunity to tell you that I've formed a partnership with makesmyheadspin of Hot For Teacher and Breaking The Girl fame along with a ton of other great stories. If you haven't been reading her stuff you're seriously missing out. Our team is named MKay Productions and you can find our author's page by clicking on my profile under Favorite Authors. We're currently working on a crossover story together that we'll be posting soon. The first chapter is done but we want to get a few more under our belt before we start posting, so head over there and put us on alert if you don't want to be left out. That girl has some serious talent, and although we each vow to knife each other in order to claim ASkars for ourselves, I love her enough that I'd call 911 before I dragged him away to do naughty things with him. That's the mark of TRUE friendship. :) Now I need to work on the MKay story along with an update for Expectations. For those of you following that story, I can say not many of you were very happy with my evil cliffhanger in the last chapter. I apologize, but really? It's a lot of fun from this side of the computer screen. I highly recommend them to any of the other authors out there. Thanks for reading!**


	15. Goal

**A/N: Anyone still out there? Hello? *echoes* I know it's been a LONG time since I've updated over here, but I was busy finishing up my other story, writing the 'What the Fae?' story with makesmyheadspin and starting a whole NEW story because I'm a glutton for punishment. This chapter is a little different in that _this _Eric and Sookie are the same Eric and Sookie from my 'Expectations' story. All credit for the idea belongs to makesmyheadspin because she had a harder time of letting this Eric go than I did. I don't think you'll be lost if you haven't read it so it shouldn't really matter. However, if you planned on reading it, this chapter will contain spoilers so you might want to wait and read it afterwards.**

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns them all. I'm just missing Island!Eric too.**

Goal

**SPOV**

I sat on the sideline with the container of orange wedges sitting on my lap enjoying the indian summer weather as I watched the kids running around the soccer field. Our daughter Erica had grown into a very opinionated but loving six year old. She was naturally taller than the other kids her age thanks to her father's genetics and she was a definite leader amongst the other first graders. I attributed part of it to just being a Northman and the other part from four years of 'only child/grandchild syndrome'. We doted on Erica, but she was spoiled by all three of her grandparents. Eric and I _wanted _more children, but we also thought it would be good for her to have siblings as well since we were only children ourselves.

I started taking birth control pills not long after she was born because we both wanted to wait a while before having more children so we could fully devote ourselves to Erica. When she was about to turn three we were ready to try again with our goal being at least three children if not four when all was said and done, but it wasn't as easy as we'd hoped it would be. I'd been through a complete physical and the doctor assured us that the tumor that had caused my earlier infertility had more or less burned out proven by the fact that my period had returned each and every month, so there was no physical reason why we hadn't been successful.

I'd become obsessed with getting pregnant again for months with Eric and I having sex at every opportunity, but as I cried on his shoulder one night after my period had shown up yet again he convinced me that it didn't matter. We had Erica and if we wanted more children then we could just adopt. We sat on the idea for a couple of months because I didn't want to adopt a child merely because we couldn't have more of our own, but the more I thought about it the more that I realized we had all of this love to share with another child and it _didn't _matter if they weren't our flesh and blood, we would _still _be their parents.

The sounds of laughter caused me to glance over to my left and I saw our boys playing in the grass a few feet away from me. Like Erica, we considered them miracles as well, but for completely different reasons. Sam and Tommy were brothers with the same biological mother, but different fathers. They came to us two years earlier at the ages of three and one having been removed from their drug addicted mother's care. We started out as their foster parents with both of them being extremely malnourished and Sam acting very skittish and withdrawn because their mother would leave them home alone for days on end while she was off getting high. Tommy was 14 months old but he couldn't even crawl yet much less walk because he'd spent the majority of his life in a crib.

Eric had become a successful author and we were fortunate that he was able to work from home as well as having the financial resources for us to devote all of our time to our children. Sam bonded with Erica first since she was so close to his age and with her help he learned to speak with words instead of the grunts and hand gestures he'd used when he first came to us. They were quickly thick as thieves and both of them looked out for Tommy. It took Sam seeing Erica's trust in us for him to gradually be able to trust us as well.

We hired physical and speech therapists as well as a counselor to help with their physical and mental growth and over time we met each short term goal we'd set out to reach. I would never forget the sound of them laughing for the very first time a little over a month after they'd first arrived as they watched Erica singing and dancing along to the radio. Upon hearing them Eric and I immediately looked at each other and the tears in my eyes mirrored his own.

We'd received word that their mother had died from a drug overdose two months later and we immediately submitted the paperwork to adopt them both. Their fathers were listed as unknown and their mother had no known family so it went through uncontested and within a year we were a Northman family of five.

The therapists and counselor thought they were finally at the right stage of development for their ages around the time Erica was graduating kindergarten so we left Shreveport and spent the entire summer vacation at our island getaway home. We hadn't been back since we'd gotten the boys, but as soon as we stepped onto the beach we all felt the affect of the island's serenity immediately. The kids laughed and played in the sand and surf every day and we took them on hikes around the island letting them explore to their heart's content with Eric and I seeing everything as brand new through their eyes. We dubbed them our three little coconuts and they each picked out and decorated a coconut in their likeness that we brought home with us. Building sandcastles became a family affair and they would get added onto each day to the point where they'd grown to twenty feet long down the beach.

The kids wore themselves out each day and would pass out in sheer exhaustion as soon as the sun would set leaving Eric and I to have our nights to ourselves and we took every opportunity we could to make love, even having the time to recreate the 'Lime In The Coconut' dance from our honeymoon. I thought my love and desire for him couldn't possibly get any greater than when I'd opened the door to see him waiting outside of my father's house the morning we told each other that we were in love with one another, but I was wrong. My love and desire for him then had been great, but it was merely a drop of what I felt for him now.

Over the last seven years we'd grown as individuals, as a couple, and as a family. I really felt like he was my true other half and I never had a moment of doubt where our relationship was concerned. Never a moment of hesitation. Never a second guess. To say that I loved him wasn't enough to describe my true feelings for him, but there were no other words I could use. His love made me whole and I lusted after him now even more than I did way back when we'd first met. I call him _insatiable _but that would probably be a more accurate description for me. Even more so now that he was Erica's recreational soccer team coach. I didn't know what it was, but just the sight of him running up and down the field wearing that blue Under Armor shirt and shorts with the horde of six and seven year olds as he tried to teach them to dribble the ball with their feet got me all hot and bothered. I overheard a few of the other mom's sighing as they watched him run by so I knew it wasn't just me. I wasn't worried about them though because I knew Eric only had eyes for me. Eric reiterated that fact as he ran past me and blew a kiss my way causing yet another sigh from the gaggle of moms standing close by.

**EPOV**

I knew the attention span of a six year old wasn't great, but they were having a hard time grasping the concept of dribbling a soccer ball. I'd been coaching Erica's team for a month now and I really hadn't made much progress in that time. Half of the kids were busy picking the grass out of their cleats whle the other half were running away from whatever bug they'd spotted hovering too close to them for their liking. All except for Erica and another little girl named Meg. Erica was naturally competitive and wanted to succeed in everything she did. Meg seemed to have a natural talent for the sport and had so much energy she would literally run circles around the other kids which made Erica declare her name was no longer Meg, but Makesmyheadspin. No hyphens. No spaces. Just one word.

Meg was an easy going kid and thankfully didn't mind Erica changing her name. Erica told me that Meg was secretly in love with me which I thought was sweet and a boost to my ego until Erica informed me that while she thought I was handsome I was a daddy so that was gross. Thankfully Sookie didn't feel the same way. I was still working on convincing her to become a nun when she got older, but if her reaction to Justin Beiber was any indication the outlook wasn't good. It didn't help that Sookie only laughed at my feeble attempts now that she knew enough Swedish to understand what I'd been saying. The upside to that was she would tell me all of the dirty things she wanted to do to me and have done to her in Swedish when we were out in public. I created a dirty talking monster and I loved every bit of it.

Whenever I would feel my patience wearing thin with the kids on the field I would look over at Sookie and the sight of her would calm me down again. She was still the sun in my universe, as well as the kids' and we all revolved around her. Without her I wouldn't have had the life I lived now which was full of love and laughter. The way she transformed our boys with her love from scared and withdrawn babies into joyful and outgoing little men left me in awe of her. She was meant to be a mother and I was grateful that she chose me to be her partner in creating and raising our family. I knew she'd been disappointed that we weren't able to have more children of our own, not that I minded trying, but if we had been successful we wouldn't have Sam and Tommy in our lives now and I couldn't imagine our family without them in it. They were _our_ sons no matter whose DNA they were made up of.

Once practice was over all of the kids ran over to where Sookie was waiting to get their orange wedges and juice boxes while Sam and Tommy helped me gather all of the soccer equipment. They were still too young to play on the team, but their skill level when we played at home already exceeded a lot of the older kids' abilities and I couldn't wait for when they'd be on the team. We'd be unstoppable and my fatherly pride in my kids threatened to swell my chest and head to epic proportions.

We threw the equipment bags into the back of our Suburban (I refused to get a minivan no matter how many kids we had. I'd buy a bus before I drove one of those.) and waited for the last of the kids to get their snacks before heading home. We were greeted at the door by the newest addition to our family, a cat the kids named Bob. He was a stray that showed up at our house a few weeks earlier that refused to leave. We put up fliers with his picture all over the neighborhood, but nobody claimed him so he was ours now. I didn't like him and I was sure the feeling was mutual given that he was only affectionate with Sookie and the kids, but when Sam said we should adopt him so he'd be loved like him and Tommy were I couldn't say no.

The kids had been outside running around playing all day long so I knew as soon as they had dinner and their baths they would be out for the night. Sookie must have been thinking the same thing because when I said I was going to change out of the soccer gear I'd been wearing she came over and whispered, "Leave it on and you'll get the chance to make your own goal later on." I didn't know what turned her on about the outfit I was wearing, but I wasn't going to question it. Our sex life hadn't diminished one bit in all of the years we'd been together and I still wanted her now just as much as I did when we'd first made love on the beach.

Once the kids were fed, bathed, stories read and tucked into their beds for the night Sookie took me by the hand and led me to our bedroom. She took the time to light a few candles scattered throughout the room before coming to stand in front of me again. Just seeing the lust in her eyes was enough to make my arousal obvious in the baggy shorts I'd been wearing and she wasted no time in stripping me of my clothes, but when I made a move to reciprocate she batted my hands away. As soon as I was lying in the center of the bed she disappeared into our walk-in closet and stepped out a few minutes later wearing a feminine version of a man's black pinstripe suit with a white button down shirt, a red tie, and a black fedora hat on her head.

I was confused until she hit the play button on the iPod in the docking station and the sound of Joe Cocker singing 'You Can Leave Your Hat On' filled the room making my dick twitch as I realized I was getting a show. Sookie strutted towards the space at the end of the bed seductively stripping off her clothes in time with the music and I had a difficult time restraining myself from pulling her down onto the bed. I watched with rapt attention as the jacket slid down her arms onto the floor and then as she slid her pants inch by inch over her hips and down her legs. I didn't notice the shoes she was wearing until she stepped out of her pants and growled out loud when I saw she was wearing black stilettos which she'd previously dubbed her 'fuck me' shoes. I hoped _they _would be staying on because if she wanted to be fucked I would be more than happy to oblige her and got my wish when she made no move to take them off as her hands moved to the knotted tie around her neck.

She slowly loosened it as her hips swayed in time with the music until it was completly unknotted and held onto the short end as she slowly pulled it down her body. As it travelled over her breasts I noticed that she was wearing a red bra underneath her white shirt and the resulting throb in what she'd nicknamed my gracious plenty had me clutching the sheets on either side of my body so I didn't launch myself at her.

She flung the tie off to the side and ran her hands up her body and cupping her breasts while she squeezed them and throwing her head back making me watch as she aroused herself. Just when I thought I wouldn't be able to lie still any longer her hands moved to the buttons of the shirt, opening each one revealing inch by inch the skin that I longed to touch underneath. I bit my lower lip when the shirt fell from her arms and revealed the red lace bra and matching thong underneath. I could see the dampness in between her legs and I wanted to shout 'Thank God!' as the song drew to a close leaving Sookie in nothing more than her underwear, the hat, and her 'fuck me' shoes.

"You like?" she asked coyly while standing at the edge of the bed. My only response was another growl as I yanked her down onto the bed and devoured her giggling mouth with my own. Her giggles were soon replaced with moans of approval as my lips made their way to her breasts and I licked and nibbled away at each one over the fabric of her bra before taking it off of her body and repeating my actions on her bare skin.

Her hips were gyrating against mine when I decided to move farther down her body until I was situated in between her legs. I picked up her left leg and slowly kissed my way from her ankle to her hip before repeating the process on her right leg until my mouth hovered directly in between them. I looked up the length of Sookie's body to see her lust filled eyes watching me as I leaned forward and licked the length of her folds over the scrap of fabric still attached to her body and her hips bucked up at the sensation. I pulled the ties holding it in place on each side of her hips and freed it from her body, tossing it aside as I leaned forward once again with my tongue parting her folds as I lapped up the juices that spilled out of her.

I knew her body well enough that I could take her to the edge and back down again over and over and that's just what I did knowing when she finally did have her release it would make her see stars. When I couldn't wait any longer I sucked her clit in between my lips and thrust two fingers inside of her brushing over her g-spot and she screamed out my name as her muscles clamped down around them with her orgasm.

Her body was still trembling as I kissed my way back up to her breasts when she grabbed a hold of my face bringing my lips to her own in a frenzied kiss. She wrapped her legs around my waist and said, "I love you" as I slowly pushed inside of her. "I love you too," I whispered against her lips and had to close my eyes at the sensation of her inner muscles still twitching along my length. I could feel each pulse of my blood running through my veins as they throbbed inside of her before I slowly withdrew and then pushed back in again.

Our rhythm steadily increased, but I wanted to see more of Sookie so I flipped us over with me still inside of her in a move we'd perfected over the years never breaking stride as she bounced up and down on top of me with my hands on her hips helping her along. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was close to coming again and my gaze was torn from her eyes as I watched her hand slide down her torso to where we were joined. She rubbed circles over her clit with her fingers and seeing her pleasure herself on top of me was almost too much when her body suddenly tensed with her release. I gripped her hips and held her in place as I forcefully thrust up inside of her while pulling her hips back down yelling out her name as I came deep inside of her.

Sookie flopped down on top of me and we lay there for a few minutes with me still inside of her before she slowly moved off of me to snuggle up against my side. As we lay there together in our post orgasmic haze Sookie looked over at me and asked, "Would you mind getting me a glass of water from the bathroom?"

I leaned down and kissed her lips replying, "Anything for you." I slid out of the bed and walked into the dark bathroom not needing to turn the light on to see what I was doing, but when I reached for a cup my attention was drawn to a piece of plastic lying on the counter. Without thinking I picked it up and walked back into the bedroom so I could see what it was and I stared at it in the candlelight realizing what it was as I asked, "What's this?"

It was a pregnancy test and I'd seen enough of them two years ago to know this one had a positive result. My breath hitched in my throat and my heart pounded with joy as I looked over at Sookie and saw lying next to her on my pillow was a coconut made up to look like a baby wearing a bonnet. Her eyes were glassy with the tears that trailed down her face as she smiled and said, "Apparently you put the lime in the coconut."

**Soccer/Island!Eric came about as a result of the pictures of him wearing the above described outfit while filming the movie 'Battleship' in Hawaii. Granted, in the majority of the pictures he's standing next to some other lucky tramp, I mean gal, but if you stare at the pictures long enough they eventually blur out of sight. :) I'll post one of those pics on my profile for this chapter if you want to see what all of the fuss is about. YUMMY!**


	16. Jinx

**A/N: Yeah, so this little diddy was a bitch! Seriously, if you all could see the hot mess it almost turned out to be you all would run for the hills and forget you ever knew my name. Then again, you might think the same thing about what I'm choosing to post in its place. Hopefully not. Drumbjo requested Scientist!Eric eons ago (Her hubs is one, lucky girl!), so here he is! Better late than never, huh? :)**

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns them all. I'm just making them virgins again!**

Jinx

**EPOV**

I moved about my lab with a precision that could only come from spending most of my waking hours here as I had practically made this place my home for the last two years. The university I worked for had no idea of what I'd been doing when I spent many long hours after my official work day had ended here, but my work was always superb so I was left to my own devices. They made millions in grants from the fruits of my labor considering I'd signed an ironclad contract giving them the rights to whatever I cooked up in their lab. I was paid an obscene amount of money for that right, but money meant nothing to me anyway. Only one thing did, or one person rather, and if everything went according to plan tonight she would hopefully be mine. As if on cue the door to my lab opened at that very moment.

She walked in like she did every evening only this time she wasn't pushing her cart of cleaning supplies and was wearing a sundress instead of her usual jeans and a t-shirt. I stood transfixed on the spot I stood watching her like always. Her long blond hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, but I thought she looked beautiful as always. It was two years earlier when she'd first walked into my lab while I'd been working late. I had stayed later than normal that evening to fix one of my co-workers screw ups and I'd been angry about it at the time. I was very regimented in my routine and having to stay later put me in a foul mood, but as soon as I laid eyes on her my anger dissipated immediately and was replaced with overwhelming desire. It was a first for me.

I'd grown up an only child. My parents were both scientists and I grew up following them as a role model to a T. There were no overt displays of affection. I was never treated or spoken to like a child and my inherent intelligence allowed me to graduate high school by the time I was thirteen and had earned my PHD by the time I was twenty-one. There was never any time to make friends with anyone since I was never around kids my own age and the others around me viewed me as a freak of nature.

I supposed I was _still _a freak of nature now that I was twenty-five years old and still a virgin. I always felt awkward in any social situations and preferred to be alone. My 6 foot 5 height and lean frame stood out too much for me to blend in with the scenery no matter how much I tried, but at times I was obligated to attend school/work functions. I never cared how I looked and my blond hair was often shaggy in need of a haircut and my beard growing for no other reason than I didn't care about my appearance. My clothing consisted of mostly Dockers and collared shirts with pullover sweaters, but they were always covered by my white lab coat so it made no difference. I'd gotten used to the stares of others since I was always the odd one of the bunch whether it was for my age while in school or my too tall gangly frame now.

It didn't take long for my co-workers to realize that they wouldn't be getting much small talk out of me so I was generally left alone. I was at least ten years younger than the youngest one in my department and my position on the 'food chain' was higher than any of theirs, so that didn't help them warm up to me either. I knew they thought I felt I was better than them, smarter perhaps, but in reality I was just shy. Unfortunately there was no way for me to convey that since I couldn't bring myself to talk to anyone so it was a never ending vicious circle until she walked into my lab.

We didn't speak at all for the first month with her just quietly coming into the lab and going about her work cleaning before going on to the next lab. Every once in a while our eyes would meet with a small smile and a blush appearing on her face causing one of my own. I'd been staying late for no other reason than to see her knowing she didn't work until the evenings. Just seeing her would make my palms start sweating and my heart beat rapidly in my chest while I felt my whole body flush with color. I'd seen pretty women before, there were plenty of young co-eds all over campus, but I never felt _this _way in my entire life. I was a man and had urges, but I'd spent a lifetime never knowing the pleasures of a woman and for the first time I'd found the woman I wanted to experience them with.

It was during one of those nights when she was in my lab that my sweaty palms caused a glass beaker to fall from grasp and I'd accidentally cut myself with a shard of glass in my embarrassed rush to clean up the mess I'd made. She ran over to where I was standing reaching out to help me and as soon as our skin touched I felt an electrical charge where our skin met. I wondered at the time if she'd felt it too because our eyes locked onto one another with a look of wonder on her face before she finally broke our mutual gaze to look back at my hand.

She helped me bandage my wound and clean up the mess I'd made when I finally found the courage to speak and asked, "What's your name?"

She hadn't been looking at me when I'd spoken, but my eyes were trained on her and saw her body shiver before answering with, "Sookie. Sookie Stackhouse."

I felt a genuine smile on my face for the first time I could ever remember when she turned to face me and I said, "Well thank you for your help Miss Stackhouse." I'd been wondering from the moment I'd first seen her if she was married and while she didn't wear any rings I knew not every married person did so I quickly followed up with, "Or is it Mrs. Stackhouse?"

The blush that lit up on her face was beautiful when she smiled and said, "No, it's Miss, but please, call me Sookie."

I knew I was smiling like a kid on Christmas day, well a normal kid anyway, when I said, "Okay Sookie. I'm Eric."

From that day forward we talked a little more every night. I learned that her job here was a second job she'd taken on to earn extra money to help care for her elderly grandmother. She also waitressed part time on the weekends at a local bar and grill off campus while taking a full course load at the university. I felt bad knowing how hard she worked, but she never once complained and always had a smile on her face.

Over time I found out she was studying to become a teacher and hadn't started at the University until a year earlier at the age of twenty-two. Her grandmother had raised her, but there wasn't enough money for her to attend college until she ended up inheriting some money from a distant relative that had passed away. Sookie had said it wasn't a lot of money, but it was enough that she could manage to go to school if she kept working her two jobs and she commuted each day from her Gran's house where she remained living in order to help her around the house.

I admired her work ethic as well as her physical beauty, but I was most impressed with her sweet nature. I'd observed human interactions from afar for the majority of my life and had always been struck by the insincerity and vain characteristics often held by women as beautiful as she. Yet she was humble and down to earth in a very appealing way. I was captivated by her.

After more time had passed she asked why I was always working late and said I should be going out on dates instead of being cooped up in my lab. I instantly felt flustered not wanting to admit that I didn't date at all, had never dated, and really only ever wanted to spend time with her. Being the social retard that I was I ignored her statement and pretended to become interested in the formulas I wasn't really working on. She finished up in the lab, walking out the door without speaking another word, and all I wanted to do was kick myself. I realized much too late that my actions could have hurt her feelings and I was at a loss as to how to make things better.

My stellar performance as an asshat set our 'relationship' back by leaps and bounds with Sookie not even looking at me when she came into the lab the next evening. It lasted a week with me sitting there in silence until I couldn't take it any longer and asked how her Gran, as she called her, was doing. It was enough for Sookie to start talking to me again and from then on she became the only friend I ever had.

She'd started bringing me home cooked meals saying she was worried that I'd forget to eat being here so late and I started keeping a fresh batch of sweet tea in the refrigerator I kept in the lab knowing it was her favorite drink. We'd sit and talk each night about our days and what had gone on. It was nice having someone to share that with and I looked forward to our next chat as soon as she walked out of my lab every night.

Through our discussions we found that we had a lot of things in common, more so than I would have ever imagined. I thought she was surely pulling my leg when she admitted to a love of Harry Potter and Sci Fi shows, but she could spout off entire dialogs of Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica making me want her even more. Our friendship had gotten to the point where we'd sometimes say the exact same thing at the exact same time. It was then that she'd taught me the childhood game of yelling out 'Jinx!' that I'd never even heard of so I apparently now owed her a bunch of Cokes.

Sookie started saving my lab for the last to clean on her shift because our talks were becoming longer and longer each night. I often ran around doing everything she would've had to do prior to her arrival so we could spend the whole time talking. She didn't like me 'doing her work' for her, but I found if I gave her puppy dog eyes she usually gave in.

Eventually I started feeling brave enough the visit Sookie on the weekends while she waitressed. Her uniform consisted of a fitted t-shirt and shorts that made me feel things I'd never felt before. Not only lust, but an ever growing sense of longing to be with her all of the time. She always smiled sweetly whenever she saw me, but then she smiled sweetly at other customers as well. I wanted us to be more than just friends; I just didn't know how to get us there.

At one point Sookie told me she was having trouble with her required math course so I jumped at the chance to offer to help her. The smile she gave me in return warmed me from the inside out and we spent a few nights a week in my lab with me tutoring her. I often caught myself staring at her while she concentrated on her work, wanting to smooth out her furrowed brow with my fingertip, wanting to be the tip of the pen she sometimes stuck in between her lips in thought. She had no idea, as far as I could tell, of the effect she had on me. I sheepishly wondered if I had any effect on her.

She never mentioned dating anyone and she never asked about my dating again. I couldn't blame her given what happened the last time, but I had no idea of how to let her know that I wanted her to be more than just my friend even though I knew that was how she saw me. I wanted to find a way to make her fall in love with me because I knew now that I had fallen in love with her.

I was also worried about what would happen if we _did _end up together. I'd never even kissed a girl much less made love to anyone. What if I wasn't any good at it? What if I didn't measure up against whoever she'd been intimate within the past? The thought of anyone else having their hands on Sookie, much less any other part of their body, made me growl in frustration but I wasn't naive enough to think that she was still a virgin. I didn't think badly of her because of it knowing it was perfectly normal for an adult to have had sex at her age. I was the only virgin freak in this town.

All I'd ever known in my life was academics so I did what I did best. I researched learning everything I could about how to please a woman staying up into the early morning hours. It was surprising to me all of the different positions and stimuli one would or could use and where all of the erogenous zones were on a woman. I knew each person was different in what they liked and didn't like, but I couldn't help imagining the different things Sookie and I could do together.

She had the body of a goddess with full breasts and curvy hips. I longed to see her in a dress because I had seen firsthand her legs were sexy as hell. While I was attracted to more than just her body I found everything about her intoxicating. All of my research made for an active fantasy life with Sookie in the starring role. So much so that I was deluded enough to start carrying condoms with me in case she magically attacked me in my lab where I would take her on my desk like I had imagined so many times. I never really thought it would happen, especially since I was too afraid to admit my true feelings to her, but it was nice to dream.

It wasn't until I'd gone to visit her one Saturday afternoon while she was waitressing that I decided I couldn't keep my feelings for her to myself any longer. I'd come to this revelation when I saw one of Sookie's customers laughing and flirting with her as she took his order. I didn't hear what he'd said, but her eyes lit up with her laughter and I knew I wasn't the only one vying for her attentions. If I waited too long she might be lost to me forever and I'd never know what there could have been between us. Life was too short and I didn't want to waste another minute fearful of a rejection that might never come to fruition. I had to take a chance if I wanted to have a shot at being with the person I'd fallen in love with.

Seeing her walk through the door tonight took my breath away and I sent a silent prayer to God that she would see fit to love me too.

**SPOV**

I was nervous going into work tonight having already resolved to tell Eric how I felt about him. I was smitten from the very first time I saw him standing in his lab with his brows furrowed writing his notes. He was wearing a white lab coat along with slacks and a sweater pulled over a collared shirt which I'd come to learn was what he wore every day. His shaggy blond hair and scruffy face hid his perfectly sculpted jaw and manly features. His eyes were as blue as the sea and his skin was so pale I wondered if he ever saw daylight. He was the most handsome man I had ever laid eyes on with a dash of adorkable nerd thrown in. It made him hot. Very hot.

I knew I was nowhere near his league so I kept my head down, for the most part, and quietly did my job at first. I felt drawn to him like a magnet though and more than once he caught me staring at him. All I could do was smile and swallow the drool in my mouth before looking away again like the bashful school girl I suddenly felt like. I was sure he was only being nice by smiling back and figured someone as smart and handsome as he was must have had a wife or girlfriend. I also doubted someone like him would be interested in dating the woman that cleaned his lab at night. I wasn't ashamed of what I did to earn a living and was grateful that I was able to help out my Gran when she needed it since she had taken care of me for so many years. Still, I figured I would just lust him from afar.

We never said a word to each other my first month working there until he'd hurt himself on some broken glass. When I reached out for his hand I swear I felt a zap as soon as our skin touched, but I later convinced myself that it must have just been a static charge or something. A person couldn't actually feel something like that just by touching someone they were attracted to, right? And when I heard him speak for the very first time as he asked me for my name the sound of his rich baritone voice alone was enough to send a shiver down my spine.

That night changed our dynamic and we began talking more and more each night. At first I couldn't tell if Eric was just shy, or maybe a very private person, because it was like pulling teeth to get him to say more than a one word answer. I wasn't deterred though because the more time I spent with him the more I wanted to know everything about him. I knew I was probably just setting myself up to be disappointed later on, but I couldn't help myself.

I found myself mesmerized by his every movement. I got to know all of his little ticks, like how he ran his hand through his hair whenever he was flustered. Or how he blushed at the slightest compliment. He seemed painfully shy when talking about himself and it took weeks before he admitted to being a child genius. Genius was my term, he'd used freak. Even after finding out just how smart he was while being as handsome as he was, I found myself falling for the shy guy that was his true self.

We'd been having our normal conversation one night when I told him that he should be out socializing or dating instead of working every night. I _was _worried that he wasn't taking care of himself properly so I had started bringing him a home cooked dinner every night. They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach so I cooked like a fiend every afternoon.

I was also feeling him out to see if he was seeing anyone since the topic had never been brought up before then. I wasn't seeing anyone and while I'd had a boyfriend or two I'd never been in a serious relationship. I wasn't holding onto my virginity until my wedding night, but I _was _going to wait until I fell in love. That hadn't happened yet so I was probably a freak myself for being a twenty-three year old virgin, but I couldn't deny that a very big part of me thought I could easily fall in love with Eric Northman.

Our banter had become increasingly easier as the time had gone on, but as soon as I made the comment about him dating his whole face locked down and he turned back to do whatever it was he'd been working on. I thought I must have crossed an invisible line and while I wanted to apologize, I felt the tears well up in my eyes at his reaction and knew that my voice would quiver if I spoke at that moment. I quickly finished cleaning and practically ran out the door.

Neither one of us said anything to each other for a week and even though it broke my heart every time I saw him, I still _wanted _to see him even if he didn't want me in the way I'd come to realize that I wanted him. I was grateful when he broke the ice and asked about Gran, so I answered him and resolved that I would just enjoy what little interactions we had no matter how much I longed for something more. We continued to open up to each other more and more, but I never asked about his social life again. It was a dual edged sword in that I _wanted _to know if he had a woman in his life while at the same time knowing it would break my heart if he did.

The first time I saw Eric walk through the door that Saturday afternoon while I was waitressing I thought my heart was going to stop. I can only imagine how big my smile was when I saw him and I felt like a giddy teenager all over again. If only he felt the same way about me as I'd felt about him. I knew he considered me his friend, but he never flirted with me or made any suggestive comments laced with innuendo so I doubted he thought of me as anything more than just that. A friend.

I was too busy between school and work to have kept up with my other childhood friends, so Eric had really become the only one I had. There were so many times I almost told him the truth about the way I felt, but the thought that he didn't feel the same kept my mouth shut. I couldn't bear the thought of losing his friendship and our time that we spent together to risk it all with the truth. The truth was that I'd fallen in love with him.

It wasn't lost on me either the way women were drawn to him. Whenever he came out to see me on the weekends there wasn't a female, and some males, in the room that didn't notice him. Heads turned so quickly around him that I imagined there was a spike of whiplash cases at the student health center. Eric seemed oblivious of the reactions surrounding him, but I figured he was just used to the attention wherever he went because he caused the same reaction every time he stepped one foot in the door.

I couldn't hide the truth of my feelings from Gran since she'd always been able to read my emotions easily and she was the one to convince me to take the leap and tell Eric how I really felt. She'd said that I shouldn't keep living a lie, which is what I'd essentially been doing, and I would never know the life I could have led with Eric if I never told him the truth.

So, I was petrified as I drove to work prepared to tell Eric my true feelings and the only thing that got me to walk through the door was knowing I could run right back out if he laughed in my face. I didn't think he would, but he'd never even flirted with me once so I had serious doubts he felt attracted to me at all. It would break my heart to not even have our little chats anymore if my admission ended our friendship, but Gran convinced me the reward would be too great to pass up if he wanted me too.

I approached the door, minus my cleaning cart in case I needed to make a quick getaway, and in my nervousness I ended up pulling my hair into a sloppy ponytail using the hair band I habitually kept on my wrist. Taking a deep breath I steeled my resolve and pushed the door open. Eric was working on whatever it was at the time looking over his notes with various glass jars and beakers surrounding him. He looked surprised to see me, I supposed from my unusual attire of wearing a sundress instead of my normal jeans and a t-shirt, and then a smile lit up his face.

I hadn't noticed that we had been moving towards each other until Eric and I had somehow managed to meet each other in the middle of the room. Eric's eyes roamed over my dress before coming to rest on my eyes once more with a look of awe as he said, "You look beautiful."

I blushed at his compliment and hoped it was a good sign of things to come. We stared at each other for what felt like eons before we each said, "There's something I need to tell you," in unison.

It would've been funny any other time with both of us yelling out 'Jinx!', but my overwhelming nerves seemed to have been contagious given his facial expression with neither one of us even chuckling.

"You go first," again, in unison. This time a small chuckle.

I was still blushing at his earlier compliment, but it seemed over eager to follow up his statement with what I had come here to tell him. Seeing an image of Gran with one hand on her hip and her foot tapping in wait, I took a deep breath as I looked up into Eric's eyes and said, "I'm in love with you."

My head was spinning from finally giving a voice to my confession and my hands were shaking, but my Stackhouse genes were strong so I stood still never breaking his gaze. I hadn't even realized he'd said the same exact thing to me at the same time because I was concentrating on trying not to crumple to the floor until a second before I saw him coming.

Eric's lips crashed against mine as he wrapped his arms around my waist and I moaned into his mouth. My hands found their way into his hair as I clutched him tight afraid that he'd disappear if I were to let him go. The way his lips moved against mine made me wonder if he'd kissed thousands of women because he seemed to know exactly what he was doing, but before I could contemplate that thought any further he abruptly pulled away.

Holding my face in both of his hands he looked down into my eyes and said, "Tell me I'm not dreaming."

A tear fell from my eye as I whispered, "You're not dreaming."

"Say it again." The intensity in his eyes made me unable to look anywhere else but at him.

"You're not dreaming."

"Before that." His voice was hoarse with emotion.

"I'm in love with you."

I could see the disbelief on his face give way to pure joy as he said, "I've loved you from the beginning." His lips tenderly met mine once more as he whispered against them, "I've always loved you."

He kissed me passionately then with our emotions pouring into that one kiss leaving both of us breathless. Eric's arms held me tightly against him while my hands held onto his head and neck. I couldn't get close enough to him and Eric seemed to feel the same as his hands loosened their grip and slid down coming to a rest on the small of my back pulling me tightly against him. I could feel his arousal pressed in between our bodies and his size both excited and scared me.

My hands dropped to his shoulders and ran along his biceps before dipping underneath his sweater to run over his shirt covered chest. When my fingernails raked over his hardened nipples he groaned into my mouth while his hips bucked forward as my girly bits sat up and took notice.

I let my hands go around to his back sliding over his shoulder blades before coming down to finally touch what had become my favorite part of him. Eric had always worn his lab coat so when he came into the bar for the first time I finally got to see his award winning backside and I had longed to touch it ever since. It felt just as good as it looked.

I squeezed each of his cheeks while pulling him closer causing Eric to growl in response. He kissed his way along my jaw to whisper in my ear, "Sookie, if you want to stop you need to tell me now."

I didn't want to stop. I'd been waiting for this moment for my entire life and I didn't care that my first time was going to be in a University laboratory. It would be perfect because my first time would be with a man I loved.

Instead of verbally answering him I reached up and slid his lab coat over his shoulders and down his arms, letting the fabric fall to the floor before grasping the hem of his sweater. I slid it up his chest as far as it would go, but Eric pulled back far enough to look me in the eye and ask, "Are you sure you want to do this? Here?"

Eric must have taken my tongue away with his kiss because I wasn't able to speak so I merely nodded and hoped like hell he wanted to too. To say I was ecstatic when Eric pulled his sweater over his head would be an understatement, but when I unbuttoned his shirt and found the treasure that lay beneath I may have growled a little to myself. I had no idea Eric was so muscular. He had a lean build with defined pecs and six-pack abs and, _oh my_, a hint of a defined V peeking out of the top of his baggy Dockers. I found it impossible to take my hands off of him while I wantonly stared at his naked chest.

I leaned forward kissing the center of his chest and moved my lips to one of his nipples sucking it in between my lips making Eric's hips buck forward again. When I bit down lightly with my teeth he held onto the back of my head keeping it in place as a hiss escaped his lips before pulling my lips back to his.

I'd shared a few kisses in my lifetime, but none of them compared to the way Eric kissed me. It was as if we'd been kissing each other for years instead of only minutes and I whimpered when he pulled his lips from mine.

I felt his hands slide to the zipper at the back of my dress and he pulled it down slowly as if he was trying to memorize this moment in time. I could see the love, as well as the lust, in his eyes and it was the only thing that let me stand there confidently knowing I was about to be naked in front of a man for the first time in my life.

He peeled the straps of my dress down my arms letting the dress fall to the floor at my feet. It was the type of dress with a built in bra so I was left standing there in nothing more than my red lace panties. I watched Eric's eyes roam over my nearly naked form and then he looked back at me in awe saying, "You're truly beautiful."

His hands gently cupped my breasts while he ran the pads of his thumbs in circles over my nipples and I felt it all the way down in between my thighs. He leaned forward replacing one of his hands with his mouth and as soon as I felt the warm moisture of his tongue make its first pass over my breast my knees buckled from the sensation. Eric paid each of my breasts ample attention while I felt the moisture leaking down my inner thighs. His free hand trailed down the front of my body and dipped into the front of my panties with his fingers sliding through my slick folds causing both of us to moan at the sensation.

While he continued his exploration with his fingers my hand reached forward and caressed the bulge in the front of Eric's pants making him gasp and moan against my skin. He felt impossibly huge and I couldn't wait any longer to find out what lay in store for me so I unbuttoned his pants and carefully pulled down his zipper. What I saw trapped inside of his boxer briefs made me pause. I had no idea how _that _was supposed to fit inside of me, but I was more than willing to find out so I slid my hand inside grasping his length at the base and firmly stroked upwards. The sound that came out of Eric's mouth caused an identical sound out of me.

Eric somehow managed to pull my panties off without me noticing and in the next instant he had picked me up and set me down on top of his desk. I'd wrapped my legs around his waist unwilling to let him leave that space while our mouths found each other's once more. I felt Eric reach behind me and barely noticed the papers that went flying off his desk as he lay me down on top of it with them falling like it was our own ticker tape parade.

He kissed his way down my body, stopping at my breasts again, before going lower and lower until he was kneeling in between my thighs. He placed each of my legs over his shoulder and leaned forward lightly blowing air over the moisture that had accumulated before making the first pass through my folds with his tongue. My hips bucked at the glorious sensation as my eyes closed concentrating on the feelings he was generating in my body while his arm slid across my waist pinning me to the desk.

Eric continued to explore every inch of skin he could reach with his tongue, but when he concentrated his mouth on my small bundle of nerves gently sucking it in between his lips as his lapped his tongue over and over my hand latched onto his hair as I wantonly ground my hips against his face feeling a tightening low in my belly. The pressure continued to build and when I was sure my entire body was about to explode I heard Eric say, "Look at me lover."

My eyes shot open to see him staring back at me from between my legs as he went back to doing wicked things with his tongue. He slipped one and then two of his long fingers inside of me thrusting them in and out as the pressure continued to build and watching him pleasure me as he watched my reactions was almost too much to bear. My inner walls continued to constrict around his fingers when he hooked them, brushing over a spot inside of me that I had no idea existed causing an explosive orgasm to rock through my body while I screamed out his name.

I think I heard Eric say, "Beautiful," but I can't be sure since my entire being was on sensation overload. My skin tingled from my scalp to my toes with every inch in between trembling. Eric kissed and licked his way up my body before I pulled his lips back to mine. I could taste myself on his lips and when I felt his arousal pressed up against my thigh I had to have him. It occurred then that I wasn't on birth control pills and the tears sprang to my eyes thinking we would have to stop.

Eric noticed and looked panic stricken as he asked, "Sookie, what's wrong? Did I hurt you?" I managed to giggle, or else I really would cry, and said, "No, you were wonderful. I never knew something could feel that good, but I'm not on the pill."

Eric actually blushed at my admission before saying, "Well, I have some condoms." I guessed the unspoken question was obvious on my face because he quickly followed it up with, "NO! I bought them hoping _we _might need them one day. I've never...you know...been with anyone."

His voice was nothing more than a whisper at the end of his confession, but my heart soared knowing we would be each other's first. Eric looked so embarrassed that I quickly said, "Me too. You'll be my first." _And hopefully my only _I silently added.

Eric seemed astonished at first, but before I could get too upset about that he smiled and kissed me again causing all coherent thoughts to leave my mind. My hands roamed up and down his back marveling at how his muscles moved beneath his skin before sliding into the waistband of his boxers slipping them down his hips and his legs as far as my hands could reach.

My hand wrapped around his length once more and my thumb brushed over the moisture that had pooled at his tip causing him to shudder with the contact. Eric kissed me again before pulling away and commanding me to, "Stay there," as he went to retrieve the condom from his pants pocket. Hearing his voice give out what sounded like an order made my body ten degrees hotter, but when he turned to walk back towards me completely naked and my eyes saw what my hand had been stroking I gasped. He was _huge! _

Eric seemed to realize what I was thinking because he came to stand in between my legs and held my face with his hands saying, "We don't have to go any farther."

"I want to!" The words left my mouth before my mind formed the thought. It was true though, I _did _want to. With him. Now.

He stared down at me for another moment before I pulled his lips back to mine demanding he continue with my kiss. Reaching down, I continued to stroke him before begging against his lips, "_Please, Eric..." _It worked.

Eric stood up long enough to roll the condom on and then leaned down kissing me with his erection sliding through my glistening folds making each of us moan before placing himself at my entrance. We looked into each other's eyes as he slowly pushed inside of me, pausing when I winced at the initial sting of pain. Once it subsided I urged him to continue by pushing my hips against his. He moved further inside of me inch by inch until he was all the way inside.

I was overcome by the way he felt inside of me feeling each pulse of his blood beating against my inner walls while looking into his love filled eyes. "I love you," we whispered before he slowly withdrew and then pushed back in. My ankles locked around his waist as my hips thrust upwards to meet his descending ones. I could feel the now familiar tightening starting to form again and Eric's thrusts picked up speed as we each chanted the other's name mixed in with an 'Oh God' and "So good'. I was teetering on the edge of another explosive orgasm when I felt Eric swell even larger inside of me and he grabbed my hips in his hands changing the angle slightly as he forcefully thrust into me. It pushed me over into euphoria as my vision was reduced to nothing more than flashing lights and every muscle in my body locked down around Eric as he yelled out my name with his release.

We lay there panting with my arms and legs still locked around Eric's body which was lying on top of me, both of us a sweaty mess. My mind and body were nothing more than mush so when we each said, "Wow," Eric beat me to the punch chuckling out, "Jinx!"

**I love Nerd!Eric. Or Scientist!Eric...whatever. Speaking of which, have you all read scribeninja's ****Studybuddies****? I'm sure you have because, really, who hasn't? It's fantastic! Anyway, she just started posting a new story starring her Nerd!Eric called ****From the Journal of NerdStud****! I squeed! Seriously! So you all should check it out. I was having Nerd!Eric withdrawals which is what got this story written, but had I known she was going to bless us with more NerdStud I wouldn't have bothered. Oh well...**

**And, as always, my Skarsberry (I'm gonna copyright that term!) has a corresponding ASkars pic for this chapter so check out my profile if you want to see it. I might have to post two, one in the lab coat, and another in the sweater/collared shirt. So yummy... I thought about starting another series based off of my WTF?ASkars pics, but when I texted them to fanfic wife makesmyheadspin I apparently scarred her for life, so I guess I won't. What's so bad about ASkars dressed up like a lobster or Bella Swan with a matching ****Little Mermaid**** or ****Twilight**** story to go with it? *shrugs shoulders***


	17. Life

**A/N: I feel so guilty not updating anything lately. Work has been hectic and now that the holidays are upon us I expect it will only get worse. I'm going to try to post another chapter of The Northman Identity soon, but I have no idea how long it'll be before I can. In the meantime, I hope this will tide you over for now. By request of CLShelton, here is a continuation of sorts for Chapter 14 of this series, Dear American Soldier. She sent me a PM asking for this and did it in a way that made me laugh in the early morning hours as I read it without even having my first sip of coffee. Up until that day, I would have thought that was an impossible task, but she proved me wrong. And, this is an all Eric POV so I hope everyone is okay with that too.**

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns them all. I'm just making Eric frantic.**

Life

**EPOV**

I tore through the night with my only focus on getting to her as fast as I possibly could, barely registering the sounds of the police siren or flashing red lights lighting up the darkened highway. I couldn't lose her, not now. Not when our life together had only barely just begun. I'd lived through the atrocities of war in a God forsaken desert watching men I'd considered my brothers die around me and still I managed to somehow survive, but I had no illusions that I would be able to survive the loss of her. Every breath she took was the air that filled my lungs. The blood that pumped through her veins made my heart beat. She was my life force, the sun in my sky and my entire being revolted at the idea of a world existing without her in it.

As the highway blurred underneath my tires my mind replayed our time together thus far, taunting me with the seemingly perfect way our worlds had collided while never once imagining it could all end in an instant. I should have known better given what had happened to my parents. I didn't want to remember any of it right now, but my brain wouldn't cooperate. I should have known my life wasn't meant to have a happy ending.

Sookie and I had quickly settled into our life as a couple as soon as I'd made my way to Bon Temps. We'd spent the summer getting to know each other in every way imaginable. I'd never met anyone like her and I felt like the luckiest guy on earth to have captured her heart. She was beautiful both inside and out and it wasn't lost on me that I wasn't the only one that felt that way.

Over the first few weeks she'd slowly introduced me to everyone in town and it was obvious that a lot of the single men weren't too happy to meet me. She might still think of them as the ten year old boys she'd known in her childhood, but it was apparent that they saw the sweet and sexy woman she had become. In the beginning I'd often felt the urge to give in to my caveman mentality and stake my claim on her by throwing her over my shoulder while clubbing every male within a 50 foot radius. But I quickly realized there was no need because Sookie only had eyes for me and scoffed in disbelief whenever I pointed out one of her numerous admirers. She had no idea how alluring she was and it only made her more beautiful.

Thankfully her family and friends were accepting of me from the start. She had been worried about what they would think with me moving in with Sookie right away and I had to admit that I was nervous at what their reaction would be as well. Sookie threw a barbeque at the farmhouse my first weekend in Bon Temps and invited all of her friends and family to introduce me to her inner circle. She'd been a nervous wreck which in turn made me nervous as well. I didn't want our relationship to cause any discord in her family so I pulled her aside before anyone arrived and said, "Sookie, maybe I should look for an apartment in town." I glanced over at Bonnie lying in the sunlight that spilled through the screen door onto the floor of the foyer and asked, "Do you know of any that allow pets?"

I'd meant to calm her nerves by showing her that I cared enough about her to sacrifice what I wanted by giving her the space I thought she might need, but it had the opposite effect as I watched tears spring to her eyes. "You don't want to stay here?" She looked down at Bonnie and I heard her breath hitch in her throat as she whispered, "And you're taking Bonnie too?" Her body started to tremble while her lower lip jutted out and I was at a loss. I'd never been in a relationship before and I didn't know what I was supposed to do, but I couldn't stand the sight of her crying and thankfully my instincts took over.

I quickly scooped her up in my arms and held her close trying to soothe her frayed nerves. Pulling back far enough to look in her eyes the truth just tumbled from my mouth. "Of course I want to stay here. I don't ever want to leave, but I don't want to make things difficult for you with your family. If that means I have to live somewhere else for now then that's what I'll do, but make no mistake about my true feelings. I love you Sookie Stackhouse and I have no intentions of letting you go."

I could see the relief flood her body before it quickly turned into something else entirely. We'd been going at it like rabbits since my first day there, but I doubted I would ever have my fill of her. She pulled me down into a kiss pouring all of her emotions into it and I quickly got lost in her. We had already made love in every room of her house by that point, but neither one of us were wanting to 'make love' just then. This was about pure unadulterated need. I needed to feel that connection with her and it seemed she needed me just as much.

The guests were due to arrive at any time so we knew we didn't have much time, but it only seemed to spur us on more. We were dressed casually for the barbeque with me in a t-shirt and shorts and Sookie in a sundress which provided me with quick and easy access to everywhere I wanted to be. We'd only physically been together for a few days, but I'd spent that time learning every square inch of her body and its reactions. Knowing time wasn't on our side, I pulled my lips away from hers trailing them along her jaw to the spot behind her ear that always caused a moan from her lips that went straight to my dick.

She pressed her body against mine while her nails raked down my back and my hands ran down her shoulders pulling the straps of her dress down her arms freeing her breasts. I brushed my thumbs across her nipples causing her back to arch towards me so I took the opportunity to lean down and capture one in between my lips flicking my tongue over it in a steady rhythm while her hands slipped into the waistband of my shorts. I hissed at the sensation of her warm hand circling the base of my cock before she stroked up my length. My hands wandered farther down to the hem of her dress and slid up her smooth legs to the apex of her thighs while my body involuntarily thrust into her hand on her downward stroke.

_"Fuck... Sookie," _I half moaned half growled. I discovered she was soaking wet as well as the fact that she was going commando too.

_"Surprise," _she purred into my ear. It was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back because in the next instant I had her body up against the wall and my shorts around my ankles as I thrust into her in one stroke causing both of us to cry out. Her legs locked around my waist while my hands gripped her hips as I pounded her into the wall. She was so tight and warm and wet. It was like she was made just for me and I knew that I would never want anyone else. She was mine and, even more so, I was hers.

That thought alone threatened to make me lose all control and thankfully I could feel her muscles clamping down signaling she was almost there. I slid a hand in between us and rubbed her clit in time with my thrusts needing her to fall over the edge first while I distracted myself by clamping my mouth over hers swallowing her passionate cries. It wasn't long before I felt her whole body tense as her muscles locked down and she screamed my name as her orgasm ripped through her body pulling mine out from me as well.

Our bodies were still twitching with aftershocks when we heard the sound of wheels crunching up the gravel driveway and had just barely put ourselves back together when a knock sounded at the door. It was Sookie's parents along with her brother Jason and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing out loud at the blush that covered Sookie's whole body when her mother asked if she was feeling okay because she looked feverish.

It turned out all of Sookie's worrying was for nothing because her family and friends all welcomed me with open arms. It was the first time in my life that I felt like I truly belonged. It was the first time since my parents' death that I felt like I was part of a family again.

When September came and Sookie had to go back to work teaching at the elementary school I started looking in earnest to find a job. I still didn't know what it was I wanted to do and ended up applying for a position as a deputy in the Bon Temps Police Department when one of the deputies, Kenya, ended up resigning to stay home to take care of her newborn daughter. Her husband Kevin was also a deputy and he'd been relieved that she finally decided to leave the department because he'd always been worried for her safety.

I passed the exam and once I graduated from the Renard Parish Police Academy six months later, I was officially a Deputy. I'd never even thought about being a cop, but I ended up loving it. I enjoyed the freedom of being out in my patrol car instead of suffocating in an office environment forty hours a week. Another perk was the absolute lust that radiated from Sookie whenever she saw me in uniform. I never knew playing cops and robbers could be so erotic. Head mistress and the naughty pupil was great too. Just the thought of her in a tight skirt and her hair in a bun with a pencil sticking out of it along with her glasses perched on the end of her nose could make me hard in an instant.

From the moment I first walked into her classroom I never had any doubts that Sookie was all I would ever want or need. I'd bought the engagement ring within a month of being back in the States, but I was still nervous that she would think it was too soon so I waited until Christmas to ask her to be my wife. It was the first time I was happy to see tears fall from her eyes when she flung herself at me saying "YES!"

More tears were shed the following June when I watched her walk down the aisle towards me and she became Mrs. Sookie Northman. Bonnie was our ring bearer with our rings tied to her collar and she sat front and center wearing a veil matching Sookie's in our wedding photo. That was five years ago.

Our life together continued on and we settled into our married life with ease. We'd discussed having children and we each wanted them, but it wasn't something we were looking to happen right away since we were both still relatively young and we each had busy careers. Bonnie was our only child for now.

I worked my way up to detective and when Bud Dearborn decided to retire I was offered the Sheriff's job. I talked it over with Sookie before accepting and we both agreed it was a good thing at the time, but right now I thought it was the worst thing I could have ever done.

I'd been attending a two day Sheriff's convention in Alexandria, LA. It was about two hours southeast of Shreveport driving at normal speeds, but when Kevin called me in the middle of the night telling me what happened I hopped into my police cruiser and floored it with my only thought being I had to be with her. If I hadn't accepted the Sheriff's position I would have been there instead of almost 150 miles away.

I had just spoken to her a couple of hours earlier. She'd been feeling rundown lately and thought she was coming down with a cold so she said she was heading to bed as soon as she put the laundry into the dryer. I told her I loved her, like always, and she did the same. Only now all I could think was I hoped she knew how true those words were.

Key words from Kevin's phone call were stuck on a never-ending loop in my mind.

Fire.

Smoke inhalation.

Unconscious.

Non-responsive.

Kevin had spoken to the Fire Chief and they concluded the fire had started on the back porch in the dryer. Our bedroom was on the main floor of the house at the opposite end from where the laundry room was and it was only because there were three closed doors separating Sookie from the fire that kept it from spreading too fast to where she was sleeping unaware. Bonnie always slept in bed with us and according to Kevin she must have tried to rouse Sookie because her pajamas were torn from where they assumed Bonnie tried pulling her awake. When that didn't work she must have jumped through the bedroom window because the screen was torn out and she ran to our only neighbors, Bill and Judith Compton, who lived next door with a field and a cemetery between us. Bonnie barked non-stop until they opened their front door and they had been able to see the flames from their porch. Judith kept Bonnie with her while she called 911 as Bill ran over and thankfully pulled Sookie from the house through the bedroom window.

By the time I skidded into the emergency bay at the Monroe Hospital a little over an hour had passed since Kevin had called me. I had convinced myself to expect the worst and ran inside not even taking the time to turn off the lights and siren in the cruiser.

"Sookie Northman, where is she?" I half demanded half pleaded to the woman behind the counter.

She turned her head and I followed her eyes taking off once more before she could say anything when I saw Sookie's parents walk into the hallway. I stopped short when I saw both of them were holding onto each other while crying and what little hope I'd held onto left me as my heart sank while I fell to my knees with all of the air leaving my lungs.

My traitorous brain worked against me once more forcing me to remember it all...

the first time I ever saw her in the picture she'd sent me with her dressed as a fairy;

seeing her for the first time sitting at her desk in her classroom when I walked through her door;

the first time I'd tasted her lips in a kiss in that very same classroom;

our very first time together with each of us unsure, but it was perfect nonetheless;

her whispered words "Welcome Home," and the feeling of truly being _home _for the first time since I was a child;

the look of pure happiness on her face about our Christmas engagement;

the love in her eyes when she vowed to be mine forever in our summer wedding;

the last "I love you," from her lips only hours before;

my life, my love.

My head was spinning and my vision tunneled as I felt my body sway on the floor already unable to function without her. It simultaneously felt like seconds and hours had passed since I first entered the hospital, but in reality it was probably only a couple of minutes.

I felt the hands on my shoulders shaking me first.

Then I saw Sookie's parents talking to me, but I only knew it because their lips were moving. It looked like they were saying "Eric."

Then I heard them saying "Eric," as all of the other sounds rushed in with their words. I wouldn't have really paid any attention if it hadn't been followed by, "Sookie's okay. She's awake and the doctor is in with her now."

My head was still spinning but I shot up off of the floor and through her door stopping short once again. I watched her inhale and I felt the air expand in my lungs. I heard the beep of her heart on the machine at her side and felt the beat in my chest. As if God himself was watching our reunion unfold the darkness of the night disappeared as the early morning sunlight streaked through the window. Her hair was a mess and there were smudges of soot on her face with rips in her nightgown and she'd never been more beautiful. Tears streaked down her face once she saw me and I'd never been so happy to see them.

I had her in my embrace in the next moment telling her how much I loved her over and over while silently thanking God for not taking her from me. I pulled back and ran my hands over her asking, "Are you okay? Are you hurt at all?"

She smiled saying, "I'm okay, right Doc?" Sookie looked over at the doctor I'd only now noticed was in the room and while I knew my sole focus had been on Sookie, it would be easy to miss this doctor considering she probably only came up to my hip. Her white lab coat indicated she was Dr. Amy Ludwig.

"Yes Mr. Northman, your wife is fine." I felt my shoulders drop in relief and I had just turned to face Sookie once more when the doctor spoke again. "So is the baby, but I want to keep them here for a few more hours just for observation."

_What? _I looked at the doctor and then back to Sookie. Her eyes filled with unshed tears while a small smile played on her lips. "Sookie?" I needed to hear it again to be sure I'd heard it right the first time.

"We're going to have a baby in about 35 weeks. I was shocked too, but I'm happy about it." Her eyes furrowed questioningly when she whispered, "Are you happy about it?"

_Am I happy about it? _

The love of my life is unharmed and healthy.

The life brought about by our love is unharmed and healthy.

Happy doesn't even come close to describing it and I silently thanked God once more for giving me another chance at having a happy ending.

**So…I hope you all liked it. Did I fool you even just a little bit? I have no idea what picture I'm going to post with this chapter on my profile, but you can be sure it'll consist of one hot Scandinavian fellow whose last name rhymes with 'Scars Guard'. JS…**


	18. Legal Briefs

**A/N: *stands on tippy toes peering out into cyber space* Hello? Anybody still there? Sorry for my lack of updates lately but real life has been a real bitch between work and the crap that goes along with having kid responsibilities. Also, I wrote an entry for the Happily Never After Contest which, you know, doesn't have a happy ending. *states the obvious* But, once the contest is over…*whistles innocently while avoiding eye contact* Enough said. Anyhoo, I know I said Lobster!Eric would be the next chapter, but as it turns out I'm highly susceptible to twitter pressure. **

**Twit Pressure:**** (n) The overwhelming urge to give in to the wishes and or demands of your fellow tweeps. Much like the compulsion experienced between a Maker and their Child; or the urge to eat copious amounts of chocolate every 28 days.**

**It's real! I swear! If you don't believe me, just check out Symphonic Poem's latest 'Firehouse' chapter. You see, I was twittering around one afternoon and I asked for ideas for this fic and before you know it THIS chapter was born. Depending on how you feel after reading it you can either thank or blame Symphonic Poem (aforementioned 'Firehouse' fic *there's naked pulsing flesh!*), Chanel Addict ('Angry Actors' fic which I haven't read yet but I'm sure is quite fabulous as I believe there may be Beige!Snark going on), and Makesmyheadspin (too many to list as there are more ideas swimming in that girl's head than Eric would have perusing a Frederick's Of Hollywood catalog). And, like the GP, this chapter is larger than most (of mine) so be prepared.**

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns them all. I'm just making them do very dirty things. *states the obvious again***

Legal Briefs

**SPOV**

I was ass deep in stacks of depositions when I heard the telltale click clack of Pam's Jimmy Choos coming towards my office door as she bellowed, "Sookie! Let's go!"

"I'm coming!" I replied using the same line I'd been feeding her for the previous thirty minutes hoping she would just give up and leave without me. I would have no such luck since she came to a stop in my doorway with her hands on her hips and a determined look on her face.

"That's what you need," she said as she eyed me like I was her fifth grade science project. At the confused look on my face she continued, "To come. You need a mind blowing orgasm or three to loosen the fuck up." She gestured at the stacks of files strewn across my desk with a flick of her perfectly manicured fingernails and said, "You need to stop already. YOU are ready. Your case is ready. You're acting like you'll be popping your cherry in the courtroom tomorrow."

She was right. I was freaking out. It was an internal freak out, but a freak out nonetheless. As the District Attorney, Pam had been my boss since I'd been hired as the ADA three years earlier and she'd taken me under her wing from day one teaching me everything, from when to be a cutthroat bitch to using my feminine wiles to my advantage. Never anything more than a bat of my eyelashes or a strategically placed sigh/lip pout, but like some men could use their size or deep voice to intimidate someone us women needed to use whatever tools God had blessed us with. God happened to bless me with a full D cup and naturally blond hair. Men and women alike tended to place me into a 'bimbo' stereotype and it was always their downfall when I wiped the courtroom floor with them.

Over the previous three years Pam had become one of my very best friends and knew my whole life story so I didn't need to elaborate when I admitted, "You're right, but you know why this case is important to me." It wasn't the case that was important so much as who was the counsel for the defense, one William T. Compton.

I'd been raised by my Gran from the time I was seven when my parents died in an accident and while there was always clothes on my back and food in my stomach there wasn't enough money for much more than that. Looking back now I realize we were poor by society's standards, but I'd never felt that way growing up. Instead of taking trips to Disney World and the like, Gran would take me to the library and I'd get to visit whole other countries and worlds through the books I read. My love of reading set the foundation for my love of learning and I excelled at school eventually earning a partial scholarship to LSU with school loans and waitressing at night helping me to get my degree.

My love of arguing on my high school debate team led to my decision to pursue a profession in law, but since my head was perpetually buried in a book from the time I was four I never had many friends much less a boyfriend until I was in law school. Bill Compton was a few years older than me and was the TA in my Criminal Law class. Like a fool, I was instantly smitten by his southern accent and gentlemanly ways so when he showed the least little bit of interest in me I fell hook, line, and sinker. He'd been my first boyfriend and lover. Bill grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth and while I wasn't ashamed of growing up with less than most I was still taken aback by the thought that he felt I was worthy enough to stand at his side. It turned out I was wrong as I found out when Bill was about to graduate Law School and he came out and told me that 'it was fun while it lasted', but he was getting ready to join a prestigious law firm in Shreveport and he needed someone who's background matched his own to settle down with in order to eventually become a partner within the firm. My heart shattered in that moment, but when he suggested that we could still hook up on the side as long as I understood 'my place' I used my Tae Bo skills to give him a black eye and the potential to have later fertility issues. It turned out Bill had been engaged to his high school sweetheart, Selah Pumphrey, who'd been raised with a silver spoon matching his own the entire time we'd been together.

From that moment on I swore off relationships figuring I'd save myself the heartache. I didn't swear off sex and saw nothing wrong with the occasional hook up, even maintaining a couple of 'friends with benefits' relationships since then. I'd had to let Alcide go when he started making noise about wanting to settle down and he eventually met and married a sweet girl named Maria Starr Cooper with whom he had a daughter and another baby on the way.

I'd met Quinn at the gym and while he was dumber than a box of rocks, I didn't want him for his brains. I liked his body and what he could do with it, but he got a little too weird from my taste and I'd had to let him go too. I should've known he was one sandwich shy of a picnic basket when he insisted on being called 'Quinn' instead of John. He wouldn't even acknowledge that 'John' was his given name; like Cher or some shit. It was a quirk I could overlook, but when he started purring after sex I was done. I don't mean he made noises akin to post coital bliss; he purred; like a cat; lying in a sunny window; flicking its tail. I came thisclose to shooing him out of my apartment with my broom or luring him out with an open can of tuna.

That was six months ago and in that time my right hand and pulsating showerhead were my only intimate companions. Maybe Pam was right. All I needed was a good stiff one, and perhaps a cocktail as well, and I'd be right as rain. I was all tensed up worrying about knocking Bill on his metaphorical ass in the courtroom so I shut down my computer and took the time to put on a little more make-up before joining Pam in the lobby. The mayor was having a business casual cocktail party so all of the different city departments could mingle together 'building a team like atmosphere' and 'fostering new alliances' or some other new age bullshit. As I made my way towards Pam I internally committed myself to building an orgasm and nothing more.

We walked into the ballroom at the downtown Hilton after I rebuffed Pam's offer of 'teamwork' on getting me off. She played for the same team and routinely made attempts to 'bring me to the dark side', but I'd never been bothered by her lesbian weirdness and she knew she would be my 'go to gal' if I ever wanted to give it the old college try. For now however, I needed a MAN and in an effort of maintaining a positive frame of mind I stopped at the reception desk and rented a room for the night. I wasn't going to bring my hook up home and if I had my way we wouldn't even exchange names. Orgasms? Yes. Names? Too personal for what I was currently looking for.

**EPOV**

I sat at the bar nursing my scotch wanting to not only kick myself for agreeing to show up at this God awful get together, but wanting to kick the unnatural redhead (Arlene from the Sanitation Department I gathered from her incessant yammering) from the stool next to me. The mayor had invited me personally since I'd just become the youngest judge in Shreveport's history at thirty-four years old, but it wasn't so impressive if you considered the fact that I'd skipped several grades and ended up graduating from Law School when I was twenty. I'd spent my childhood growing up in Sweden with my nature loving American born parents before they moved us to the US when I got accepted into Harvard on a full scholarship at the age of twelve. They were very much the 'hippy/tree hugger' type, but they never dissuaded me from doing whatever I wanted to do and I ended up an odd blend of Type A/bohemian personality.

According to them, my mind was like a sponge from the time I was small and I retained everything I learned with near perfect recall. It made learning anything and everything easy for me which also sadly meant that nothing surprised me anymore either and I was quick to get bored. I'd done the big law firm thing in NYC along with some pro bono work before going back to Harvard to teach for a while when I'd decided I'd had enough of academia and thought this was too good of an opportunity to pass up. I also wanted to experience life in the south having known nothing but the northeast for the last twenty years which brought me to that particular bar stool in a hotel in downtown Shreveport.

"Well?" I heard from my left. I looked over to see the Bride of Chucky staring back at me with her head cocked to the side as though someone blew a dog whistle which she could, of course, hear. I had no idea what she was talking about having tuned her out not long after she started making flippant remarks about every other female in the room, so my only response was the blank look on my face.

"I said 'Do you want to dance?'"

She looked both hopeful and indignant at the same time. I'll admit it. I'm an asshole and I really don't care what others think of me. I'm not unnecessarily mean towards other people and I don't go around kicking puppies, but I don't mince words. I don't soften blows.

"No."

For a _normal_ person that one-word clipped answer would have been enough for them to get the hint that I wasn't interested, but apparently in the Land of Arlene that merely meant she should continue talking while surreptitiously trying to touch my arm or leg during said one-sided discussion. I glanced at my watch and saw a mere twenty minutes had passed since I'd arrived which had felt more like three hours. I looked around the room which had filled up in those twenty minutes and saw a blond haired, curvy in all of the right ways, angel on the dance floor. Like the Victoria's Secret kind. Or perhaps she was more of a devil. Like the Frederick's of Hollywood kind. It didn't matter either way so long as she agreed to commit some cardinal sins with me before the night was over.

It appeared she was dancing with her girlfriend, another blond, and I hoped like hell she wasn't playing for the same team. The way the girlfriend was looking at her I had no doubts which way she swung, but the curvy goddess she was dancing with just looked like she was having fun and nothing more. She was probably a bimbo or someone else's arm candy, but I didn't care. Stereotypical, I know. Sue me.

I didn't realize I'd stood up until I felt a hand on my wrist and looked down to see the beast's claw holding onto my sleeve as she asked, "Uh, did you change your mind about dancing?"

"No," I answered while jerking my arm free and didn't spare one more thought for the hellish woman behind me as I headed towards the heavenly one in front of me.

Her back was to me as I came up behind her and grabbed onto her hips as I started dancing to the music. I chanced a peek at her girlfriend whose only reaction was a raised eyebrow at me which I gladly returned with my own in a silent request of 'May I cut in?' She gave me an almost imperceptible nod before darting her eyes back at my new dance partner and flashed a devilish grin before wandering off.

I couldn't help running my hands along her hourglass figure and resisted the urge to cup the perfect swell of her ass expecting her to turn around to see who she was dancing with. She surprised me instead by shimmying her body backwards until it was pressing against me as she continued to dance. At six foot four I had a lot of 'front' for her to dance against and I thanked every God I could think of for the five inch heels she was wearing that allowed her ass to make contact with my crotch. A little bend of my legs on my part and a little Shakira-like moves on her part had the front of my pants straining to contain my own beast.

I couldn't take not seeing her face any longer so I spun her around by her hips and she didn't miss a beat as our dance took on a more 'dirty dancing' vibe. When our eyes finally met I had no doubts that she was feeling just as lustful as me by the hunger I could see in them. I could tell from the way she moved her body that she'd more than likely be good in bed, but I wanted a kiss from her first to be prepared. In my _vast_ experience _(gets bored quickly, remember?)_ you could always tell how a person was in bed from the way they kissed. A sloppy kiss = be prepared to do all of the work yourself. A quick swipe of their tongue = no blow jobs. Darting their tongue in and out of your mouth like a piston = jackrabbit fucker. None of those were good in my book so when she wrapped her arms around my neck pulling me down for a kiss I immediately acquiesced and I'm pretty sure her skills were what made me whimper like a little bitch. I'd be ashamed except that the way she explored my mouth with her tongue; slowly, sensuously, like I was her favorite flavor had me nearly coming in my pants like puberty-stricken tween.

We were both panting before long and I didn't question a thing when she pulled me off the dance floor. I followed her like a faithful puppy into the lobby and if I had a tail it would've wagged excitedly as I realized where this encounter was heading while we waited for the elevator doors to open. We stepped inside with other hotel guests and my furtive glances at her were met with her own. We kept our hands to ourselves, but once we made it into her room it was game on.

The door hadn't even clicked shut before our lips crashed together and we started pulling each other's clothes off. Because she was only wearing a simple wrap dress, I had her stripped down to her underwear before she'd gotten three buttons opened on my shirt. She was wearing a matching white lace set with red embroidery which did nothing to solve my angel/devil question so I deftly removed both to keep from wondering any longer while leaving her in nothing more than her black patent leather stilettos which would be remaining on.

Once she pushed the fabric of my shirt over my shoulders, having finally unbuttoned it all the way, I scooped her up in my arms and gently tossed her into the middle of the bed causing her breasts to bounce in the most mesmerizing way. My hands were immediately drawn to them and her back arched into my palms as she made the most dick hardening sounds. My lips soon followed my hands and as soon as I tasted her skin I knew I could happily dine on nothing but her again and again. If I was lucky that's just what I would do.

Her fingers wove into the hair at the back of my head while I took my time giving attention to each of her breasts as though I were trying to decide which one I liked more. I had a sneaking suspicion it would be a tie. I could feel the moisture from between her legs when she'd wrapped her legs around my upper torso and rocked her hips in an attempt at some friction while raking the nails of her free hand up my back. I let one hand glide down the smooth skin of her abdomen directly into her moist folds and groaned against her breast when I felt how slick and hot she was. I slipped a finger inside of her unnecessarily testing her readiness and right back out making her growl out in protest, but what can I say? I'm a Type A personality and I like to be in control. I'd make sure it was worth her while.

I pushed myself off of the bed to finish undressing as I said, "Patience Lover."

Her eyebrows furrowed and it looked as though she was about to argue with me when my pants dropped around my ankles and she got her first look at what was coming her way. I know I'm larger than most so the bohemian side of my personality stood tall and proud letting her look to her heart's content.

Her eyes widened as she looked from between my legs to between her own and back again as she said, "Fuck Thor, I don't know that that's gonna fit."

I smirked feeling my eyebrows rise into my hairline asking, "Thor?"

She grinned answering, "Yep, 'cause it appears you're packin' a mighty hammer."

My head fell back as I roared with laughter and I wasn't lost on the fact that while those were the only words I'd heard her speak so far, she didn't _sound_ like a bimbo. The sight of her breasts bouncing with her laughter brought my focus back to the task at hand. I quickly retrieved a condom from my pants pocket and rolled it on before kissing and licking my way up her body starting at her ankles. By the time I made it to the apex of her thighs she was so tightly wound that she was screaming from her first orgasm with barely a brush of my tongue.

The look on her face as she came was a sight to behold so I stayed put wanting to see it again. I teased her clit with the tip of my tongue before delving inside of her as far as I could reach lapping up everything in my path. When I knew she was close to tumbling over again I sprang forward and impaled her on me making her come again. I groaned with the effort it took for me not to follow right behind her, but I wanted to make it last. Everything about this girl was perfect so far and I wanted to prolong the feeling before reality ruined fantasy and I discovered she was married, or used to be a guy, or, _shudders_, a Red Sox fan.

I thrust into her slowly, drawing out her orgasm while thoroughly enjoying each and every sound she made. It didn't take long for her hips to start moving with renewed purpose and her legs wrapped around my body while her hands grabbed onto my ass either trying to pull me down into her or pull herself up onto me. Both seemed like equally good ideas. I always did my best to try to be a thoughtful sex partner, but I was especially proud of how long I was lasting with this girl considering how close she had me to coming on the dance floor. But when she pulled me into another one of her tantalizing kisses and our pace increased she screamed, "Fuck me Thor!" into my mouth right before she came for the third time I lost it and came with a strangled scream of my own in one final thrust.

I fell on top of her completely spent which she didn't seem to mind considering her arms wrapped around me while her fingertips lightly stroked up and down my back. It felt like forever and yet not long enough when I finally moved off of her and went into the bathroom to dispose of the condom and clean up a bit. She surprised me yet again when I walked back into the room to see that she was already dressed and was smoothing her hair in the mirror. Usually _I_ was the one to leave first, not the other way around. Normally I would've found this a perfect ending to the night, but tonight, with this girl, I felt…off? Bothered? Sad? Used?

'_For fuck's sake Northman you should stock up on chocolate and tampons too,'_ I thought. But I found that I maybe, kinda, sorta wanted to see this one again. Normally I avoided the whole, 'We should do this again sometime,' or 'I'll give you a call,' discussions at this point in the night so I didn't know how to actually _start_ one of those conversations. Why couldn't _she_ be like the others and bring it up? _'Maybe it's because she's NOT like the others that makes you want her to,'_ my non-helpful inner dialogue continued. I could at least ask her for her name, right? That's not being too much of a pussy.

When she finished trying to tame her sex hair she turned to me and smiled before catching on that I was still naked. The appreciative leer she gave made me step closer and tilt her chin up for another kiss which I quickly lost myself in before she reluctantly pulled away.

"What's your name," I whispered afraid to spoil the moment.

She closed her eyes briefly before opening them again with a soft smile answering, "My name is Lover and you are Thor. Tonight was absolutely perfect. Thank you." She placed one last chaste kiss on my lips and walked out of the door without another word.

_Fuck._ Were my _feelings_ were hurt? I sat on the bed after getting dressed to ponder that question which was a mistake because her scent wafted up from the bedding and invaded my senses. After wallowing for a few more minutes I stood up to leave while making a mental note to stop for chocolate and tampons on my way home after coming to the conclusion that, yes, my feelings were hurt.

**SPOV**

It took every shred of willpower I had to walk out of that hotel room and leave Thor behind, but it had to be done. He was different from the others, of that I had no doubt, and therein lie the problem. If he _had_ been just like the others I probably would've traded phone numbers with him and would try to work out a semi-regular booty call. Lord knows the man had bedroom skills and he was surprisingly graceful on the dance floor despite him being a giant. But in that one unguarded moment when he laughed at my 'mighty hammer' joke I knew I'd end up wanting more than just a booty call with him. Something inside of me screamed out '_More!'_ I would want more from him, but I couldn't take the rejection if he hadn't been willing to give it. I also wasn't sure I'd have it in me to let him get close enough to give him more in return.

So, like the coward I was, I ran. I had no idea of who he was or where he worked so I wouldn't be able to go looking for him even if I'd wanted to and the city of Shreveport was large enough that we could conceivably never run into each other again provided I avoided all future mayoral functions.

I changed into one of my sleep shirts as soon as I got home allowing myself this one night to still smell him on my skin and once I woke and showered in the morning I vowed I wouldn't think of Thor again.

I stood facing the full length mirror attached to the back of my office door the next morning making sure I looked alright. I'd worn a fitted white button down shirt unbuttoned to the top of my breasts with three quarter length sleeves tucked into a black pencil skirt that hugged my curves with a conservative slit up one side and ended just at my knees. I'd worn my new black patent leather stilettos all week long to get used to them so I'd be prepared to wear them all day long in court. My hair was parted on the side and pulled into a low ponytail at the nape of my neck and the only jewelry I'd worn was a pair of diamond stud earrings Gran had given me when I'd graduated Law School. I cherished them knowing they'd been passed on to her from her mother and I thought of them as my lucky charm.

I felt fine all the way to the courthouse, but as I climbed the stairs to the third floor courtrooms my nerves started hitting me full force. I wanted to show Bill what he missed out on by discarding me like a piece of trash all of those years ago, but now I felt like I'd be lucky if I didn't vomit all over my shoes. I wanted to cry when I saw Pam waiting for me outside the courtroom, I just wasn't sure if it was from relief or despair; it would depend on what she had to say.

"Well you look like shit." _Okay, despair_.

"Thanks Pam, perhaps you'd enjoy sitting at the table for the defense so you and dickhead can talk about what a loser I am." _What? I lash out when I feel vulnerable._

"What's wrong? Did tall, blonde, sex on a stick not ring your bell last night?"

The smirk on her face made me feel better and while I knew she was only trying to distract me I couldn't help replying, "Like Big Ben at high noon," and dissolved into a fit of giggles. Pam had no boundaries. About anything. I admired her for it and although it took me some time to adjust I had no longer had any problems dishing out TMI right along with her. I'd had to actually talk myself into taking a shower that morning not wanting to lose Thor's smell since they enhanced my memories of him, but I forced myself to do what needed to be done yet again.

"That's my girl," she praised like a proud mother. "Now go in there with your head held high and show William T. Cumdumpster what a fuck up he is."

I was opening the courtroom door as she said 'Cumdumpster' and let out an unladylike snort when Bill's head whipped around having obviously heard what had been said. _Asshole._

Seeing him again, I wanted to kick my own ass for ever having gotten so upset over someone like him. He didn't deserve my tears then and he sure as hell didn't even deserve one iota of my time now. I realized what a dumbass I'd been trying to keep everyone at arm's length to avoid getting hurt and wondered if I'd be able to track down Thor. After all, I'd never know if he was up for something more if I didn't stick around long enough to find out. I made a mental note to see if Pam knew where to start looking for him while I mentally sang Mary J. Blige's 'Work That' and strutted down the center aisle like a runway model confident in myself as both a lawyer and a woman. Bill Compton no longer had the power to make me wilt away like the naïve girl he once knew. That power was mine and mine alone.

The criminal case itself was pretty cut and dry as far as I was concerned. The defendant, Victor Madden, was a white collar criminal having built a pyramid scheme bilking hundreds of thousands of dollars from hard working citizens. Many people had lost their lifesavings and it was for that reason he'd chosen a trial by judge instead of jury knowing he'd have a tough time garnering any sympathy from everyday people.

Sophie Anne LeClerq was the trial judge and since she played for Pam's 'team' my top three buttons were undone for her as well. I'm not Pam's progeny for nothing.

I'd chanced a sideways glance in Bill's direction and based on the look on his face I didn't have to be a mind reader to know what he was thinking, but it would be a cold day in hell before I ever gave him the time of day again.

As the bailiff called everyone to stand I'd never felt more confident in my life that today would be a great day.

**EPOV**

Due to a last minute change in the dockets I'd ended up presiding over my very first trial as a judge involving a white collar crime because the scheduled judge had some family emergency involving her son Andre. According to the courthouse gossip Sophie Anne was pretty extreme when it came to raising her son, but that was neither here nor there. The truth was I was thankful to have it as a distraction since I still couldn't get 'Lover' out of my mind. I'd even put off showering until the last minute this morning so I could hold onto her scent for as long as possible. _Maybe I should watch fucking Lifetime while I'm at it._

Once I pulled my robe on in my chambers and checked the time, I signaled the bailiff that I was ready to begin and entered the courtroom as he said, "Will everyone please rise. The Honorable Eric Northman presiding."

I'd kept my eyes trained down not wanting to trip over my robes as I ascended the bench because I'd had them kept long enough that my preferable footwear, flip flops, wouldn't be visible. I liked to feel 'free' and didn't like any kind of constrictive clothing either so the robes were a plus. I attributed it to my parents' upbringing.

Once I took my seat I announced to the courtroom, "Please be seated," and looked over at the defense table first to see the accused. I would force myself to remain objective even though he looked like a slime ball snake in the grass. His lawyer wasn't that much higher in my estimation either. We appeared to be the same age, but his sideburns were most recently fashionable during the Civil War and made me wonder if he did re-enactments on the weekends. I only noticed them because he couldn't take his eyes off of the table for the prosecution which naturally drew my eyes as well.

It took all of my years of practice at not reacting to witness' statements on the stand for me to keep my facial features from showing the gamut of emotions running through me when I saw _her_ behind the table for the Prosecution. _'Lover' was the ADA?_ I was simultaneously elated, miserable and angry seeing her again, but mostly I was relieved. At least now I'd know who she _really_ was. There were so many questions I wanted to ask her, but in this forum I was limited to, "Are the People ready to proceed?"

I clenched my teeth when I watched her close her eyes, reminding me of the night before, and opening them again as she replied, "We are Your Honor. ADA Sookie Stackhouse for the People." She smiled softly at me and while I _wanted_ to see that as a sign that she was in fact interested in me, I couldn't help but wonder if she thought I'd treat her more favorably because of the night before.

_Sookie Stackhouse._ I'd definitely contemplate it all later.

I must have been staring too long because I heard a throat clearing and glanced over at Mutton Chops to see him glaring daggers at me. Like it's _my _fault he looks like a douche.

"Is the defense ready to proceed?"_Fuckwad,_ I added internally.

He made a point of looking back and forth between 'Lover' and I before stating, "We are Your Honor. William T. Compton for the Defense."

I sat forward with my fingers steepled in front of me unable to keep from boring into her eyes with my own as she made her opening statement. Unfortunately, I didn't hear a word she said as I was distracted watching her lips move and the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Whatever she'd said, she seemed pretty passionate about it so I jotted down a note to review the court transcripts later on.

I paid attention when Sideburns spoke and while he attempted to come across as a likable southerner, like Matlock, he just came off like an ass. Or maybe it was because instead of speaking to me or the courtroom, he couldn't keep his eyes off of _her._

_Was THAT the problem? Did she leave last night because she's actually with HIM? _No, no, no…my brain refused to wrap itself around that. They were in two totally separate leagues with hers hovering up in the clouds and his twenty thousand leagues beneath the sea. Opposite ends of the spectrum.

I buckled down and focused as the witnesses came to the stand and jotted down notes on their testimony. Fuckwad liked to object a lot, so it was a good thing I liked to overrule him. Before I knew it, it was after twelve so I called a one hour recess for lunch and returned to my chambers before my feet tried to walk towards her of their own volition.

I hadn't expected to be presiding over a case that day so I didn't bring anything with me for lunch. I didn't want my stomach growling all afternoon so I was pulling off my robe to go pick up something to eat when I heard the sound of a knock on my door followed by it opening and the words, "It's Sookie, do you mind if I come…" Her sentence ended there and I had to swallow the chuckle in my throat as I finished pulling the robe off. That's what she gets for coming in uninvited.

**SPOV**

_Sweet Baby Jesus, what did I do right or wrong to have Thor as the presiding judge where I'm also confronted with the man who effectively stole my virginity with his lies. Hmm?_

I was so thankful that I'd gone over everything for this trial over and over in my obsession to upstage Bill that everything coming out of my mouth was me on autopilot because my mind was too busy cataloging every little detail of the Honorable Eric 'Thor' Northman. With every pound of his gavel I recalled with perfect clarity him pounding me. I was also thankful I was wearing a skirt as just the sight of him was causing the telltale moisture to pool in between my thighs and would certainly have left a significant stain had I been wearing pants. I felt like one of Pavlov's dogs. Ring a bell and I wanted to eat him.

As soon as he called recess for lunch (with another pound of his gavel, yum) I made haste to try to talk to him while he was still in his chambers. I wanted to apologize for leaving like I did the night before and see if he wanted to get together once the trial was over. Bill attempted to pull me into a conversation in the hallway, but once I ascertained it had nothing to do with the trial I simply walked away.

I was worried that I'd missed Thor, or Judge Northman, and I wasn't thinking as I knocked while opening his chamber door. He was pulling off his judge's robe revealing what he'd been wearing underneath them.

Briefs.

Men's briefs.

Purple men's briefs.

And flip flops.

I shut the door behind me without thought and when I could finally tear my eyes away from his 'mighty hammer' perfectly encased in his purple men's briefs and looked up at his face I could see him fighting back his instinct to laugh at what was probably both shock and lust on my face.

All I could say was, "Seriously?"

"What?"

"You were only wearing briefs underneath your robe all morning?"

"Yes. Why not?"

"You seriously have to ask, 'why not'?"

"They're my 'legal briefs'."

Snort.

Snicker.

"They're purple."

"Purple is the color of royalty. I'm the King in my Court."

"Don't you feel odd wearing nothing but underwear under your robes?"

"I was raised in Sweden. We love to be naked. So yes, underwear sometimes feels odd, but I'm a professional and wore them anyway."

I wanted to jump him, but that would be unethical at this point; although the ethical lines were pretty blurry with me standing here while he wore nothing more than his royal purple legal briefs.

And flip flops.

"What did you want Ms. Stackhouse?" His tone had a little bit of a bite to it having lost all of the humor from a moment earlier.

I didn't like _that_ tone of voice from him directed towards me _at all._ I much preferred his hoarse sexy voice above all others.

"I'm sorry for leaving the way I did last night. I have, or had, issues, but it doesn't excuse my behavior."

He stared down at me for what felt like forever before asking, "Are you just saying you're sorry in the hopes that I'll rule in your favor in this case?"

?

"Fuck you!" I spat out and turned trying to get out of his chambers before the tears threatening to fall actually left my eyes when I felt his arms wrap themselves around me from behind. I should have screamed because someone would've come in to see the crazy giant wearing his purple panties, but I didn't scream because someone would've come in to see the crazy giant wearing his purple panties. I knew he wouldn't actually hurt me at any rate, but I still thrashed around like a tantrum throwing toddler as he just held me tighter while I called him every crude thing I'd ever heard come out of Pam's mouth. Her vocabulary is extensive.

When I finally ran out of steam and descriptors for him I felt him nuzzle his face into the side of my head and inhale deeply before he said, "I'm sorry. I have issues too."

I could smell him really well now that I'd stopped trying to kick his knee caps until they resembled flamingo legs with his scent calming me even more. "What issues?" I asked.

"I'm an asshole."

Snicker.

Snort.

"Acknowledging you have a problem is the first step in recovering."

"Was apologizing the only reason you came to see me?" he asked, dare I say '_hopefully?'_

Big girl panties. Big girl panties. Deep breath. "No, I also wanted to know if maybe you'd like to go out to dinner or catch a movie together once the trial is over."

I could feel the smile form on his lips since they were still pressed against the side of my head. "Like a date?" he asked coyly.

"Yes, like a date."

"Will you put out if I take you to dinner AND a movie?"

"You weren't kidding, you are an asshole."

"You didn't answer the question."

"Yes, but only if you wear your 'legal briefs' that night."

It turned out that that our date was that very same night after Eric recused himself from the case due to ethical issues once we arrived back from lunch a little late and a lot mussed. Thank God no one could tell I was now wearing the purple briefs and besides his robe, Eric wasn't wearing anything more than his flip flops and a smile.

**Fans of Drunk!Skars will recognize the picture posted on my profile to go along with this chapter. *heart failure warning at the sight of ASkars in his purple panties* I have more than half of the next chapter of The Northman Identity written and I've placed a self-imposed ban on myself from reading any other fan fic updates until that's posted so I'm shooting for Sunday. *crosses fingers* Feel free to shoot me some 'Uniform' Eric ideas as I'm running low, but I do have an idea for the next Uniform chapter from forever ago from fellow fan fic author Ashley Sue which will be followed by the somewhat awaited Lobster!Eric. I'll try not to let two months go by this time. *bows, scrapes, hangs head***


	19. Lights Will Guide You Home

**A/N: So it's been a LONG time since I posted anything over here, huh? I've got no less than six chapters started, but this one had been eating away at me to get finished. I'm warning you now that it's long, there aren't any lemons, and it may or may not get my angst-baby membership card revoked. Also, tissues might be required. For added misery, feel free to listen to Coldplay's song 'Fix You' since that was what was running through my head when I wrote it. And to geekysole, if you're out there reading, know that you'll never be far from my thoughts and you'll always have someone to vent to in me.**

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns them all, but some of the descriptions came from real life heartbreaking stories I came across on the internet and fueled the idea for this story.**

Lights Will Guide You Home

**EPOV**

I could feel the plane's descent as we approached Shreveport on the final leg of our flight and clutched the folded American flag in my lap a little tighter. It had been a long and grueling journey home, from our forward operating base in Afghanistan, but, despite the wrenching of my gut and the pain in my chest, there was nowhere else I would want to be; no one else I would've wanted in my place because there was no one else who honored my fallen brother more than me.

Alcide and I grew up together, having met in kindergarten, and were inseparable from that day forward. We were closer than any two biological brothers and where one of us was, the other could be found. Alcide's mother had died when he was a baby and my father had taken off before I'd been born, so we managed, between the two of us, to have a complete set of parents, connected through us by our friendship. Even when he met, and then started dating, Sookie when we were in Junior High, I was never made to feel like a third wheel and, even though I'd jokingly given him a hard time throughout the years that he was lucky he saw her first, I could see how good they were together. She was his Sun and his world revolved around her. I knew that he knew it as well because of the many times we'd been in the car, on our way to her farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, and I always marveled at how he was able to spot the turn onto her gravel driveway when it was pitch black outside. There were no streetlights and her house was far back enough from the road that you couldn't see it through the trees, so when I asked him about it once he'd told me with a smile, "It's Sookie. She glows like a beacon and her light will always guide me home." I'd been envious, but happy for him to have found someone like her, even if I made fun of him for being a romantic prick. If anyone deserved to be happy, it was my best friend Alcide.

When we'd graduated from high school, with no way to afford college, I suggested that we enlist in the Marines together under the buddy program, meaning we'd stay together through basic/advanced individual training and onto our first assignment. Alc agreed and proposed to Sookie the day we came home from basic and they were able to get married a few days later at the courthouse, with me standing up as their best man. Through the following years, they were both there for me when my mother was taken by cancer, as I was for them when Alcide lost his dad to a drunk driver and Sookie lost her Gran to a stroke. Together we were a family and Sookie would always joke how she got a two-fer; two husbands for the price of one. I pretty much lived with them, always having dinner at their house when we weren't training or deployed and Alcide and I were equally nervous/terrified/territorial and dumbstruck in love when their daughter Amelia was born. She was the spitting image of her father with her dark hair and green eyes and I couldn't have loved her more if she had been my own.

When we got orders to deploy to Afghanistan, we moved Sookie and Amelia back to the Bon Temps farmhouse knowing our enlistment would be up by the time the deployment ended. Neither one of us wanted to reenlist so Sookie and Alc planned on living in the farmhouse she'd inherited when her Gran passed away and offered to let me stay there until I could find a place of my own. Ame had turned four years old the month before the move and was excited she would be able to start kindergarten in the same school where Alcide and I met. I knew this because she talked my ear off for most of the trip back.

We'd been in Afghanistan for 17 months, fighting over care packages from Sookie and bragging on Amelia's smarts and beauty to anyone that would listen, when the unthinkable happened. We were always on alert, but it had been on a routine patrol out in the pitch black terrain when gunfire erupted. Explosions went off all around us, lighting up the sky, and it wasn't until it was all over that I learned my best friend, my brother, was gone. Our entire platoon knew how close we were and even though there hadn't even been enough time to do the necessary paperwork to transfer Alcide's remains by the time the plane arrived to take him away, our Commander managed to pull some strings and I was able to leave with him. I would be starting my terminal leave early, so the most important mission of my military career would be over once I got my brother home.

The C-130 landed in the dead of night with the aid of night vision goggles because of the blackout conditions that were in effect and positioned the plane on the runway where hundreds of soldiers from our unit were lined up in formation. Shutting down their engines wasn't standard operating procedure for their aircraft due to potential maintenance problems and the hostile environment, but seeing all of the soldiers there to send off one of their own had the pilots and aircrew complying without another word. Army; Air Force; Navy; Marines; Guardsmen; we'd be the first to give the other hell for their chosen branch of service, but in times like these, we were all brothers in arms together.

The only lighting came from the back of the airplane, which was open to receive Alcide's remains, and the aircrew ran over to join the formation of soldiers, marching alongside of us, with our colors flying high, until we came to a stop at the back of the plane. Our platoon was lined up on each side of the aircraft's ramp, with the rest of the soldiers lined up behind us, and as the ambulance approached, the formation was called to attention. As Alcide passed the formation, someone shouted "Present arms," and everyone saluted with the salute held in place until he was placed inside of the plane. The senior commanders, sergeant major, and chaplain said a few words to the men and when it was over, as I was making my way onto the airplane, a young Marine named Tommy Mickens came running up to me with tears streaming down his face. Alcide had taken him under his wing and watched out for him from the moment he saw him. He'd seemed even younger than his eighteen years and the bravado he tried to portray to his platoon was nothing but a mask to his fears and Alcide saw right through him.

"That's my platoon leader," he said to me, unashamed of the tears falling freely down his face. "Please take care of him."

I couldn't allow myself to let go of my emotions yet; not yet, so I gripped his shoulder with my hand, answering, "He's my brother. I will."

As the plane continued to descend towards Shreveport, the sound of the captain's voice over the PA broke through the continual loop that had been playing in my mind of the last 20 years of my life.

"_Ladies and gentleman, this is your captain speaking. We have a passenger on board that deserves our honor and respect. His name is Staff Sergeant Alcide Herveaux, a soldier who recently lost his life. Escorting him is Sergeant Eric Northman and your entire flight crew is asking that you remain seated so that he may exit the aircraft first and attend to his fallen brother on the final leg of his journey home."_

Thanks to me wearing my dress uniform, I'd gotten several handshakes and words of thanks from assorted passengers when boarding the flight, but now that they knew _why_ I was onboard, the polite nods and smiles I'd gotten had changed into teary-eyed expressions of sympathy and understanding. The complaints I'd overheard about the flight, which had been delayed by fog, and possible missed connecting flights ceased from those around me and when we touched down on the runway, everyone was riveted by what they saw through the windows.

It was nighttime, but the moon was full and the flashing red lights of the awaiting fire trucks and police cars lit up everything for miles, with the runway lights lighting the way to the airport. It dawned on me then that it had been nighttime each time we'd landed, from Bagram, to Ramstein, to Dover and now in Shreveport, with the runway lights guiding the planes each time, but the Sun had always been up when we'd taken off and I couldn't help but wonder if it was God's way of leading Alcide home.

The fire trucks were parked on opposite sides of the runway, each of them shooting large streams of water over the blacktop and forming an arch which showered the plane as it passed through. I could see there was no movement on any of the other runways; no airplanes were taxiing around us. It seemed as though everything came to a standstill with everyone there giving their respect to Alcide.

He deserved nothing less.

There was a reverent hush amongst my fellow passengers with whispered thanks and prayers as I stood when the plane had come to a stop. The flight attendants openly cried which only made my own tears try to battle their way out. I'd cried once, so far, and that had been on the battlefield, but knowing I'd be seeing Sookie and Amelia in just a few moments, I knew I was fighting a losing battle. I only hoped to keep it together long enough to get through the Honor Guard ceremony before I lost it completely.

I could see the crowd gathered on the tarmac in my periphery when I exited the plane. It appeared the entire parish had shown up to give their respects, but when I caught sight of long blonde hair and a small brunette at her side, I quickly looked away before I could see their faces. I took the flag I'd been carrying over to the Marines who were waiting to unload Alcide's casket and stood back and watched as they climbed into the cargo hold, carefully draping the flag on top of it, and was a little surprised when I looked up and noticed the passengers on the plane were still seated. Even though they could now get off of the plane, none of them did and their show of respect warmed my heart.

As Alcide was taken from the plane, everyone around us stood at attention and those that were in uniform, and some who weren't but had served in their lifetime, saluted as his casket was carried passed the crowd by the Honor Guard, and remained that way until he was loaded into the waiting hearse. I stood at the back and held my salute until the door was closed before turning and finally allowing myself to look over and see Sookie and Ame standing nearby. Their crying faces were my undoing and when I finally got them in my arms, and felt theirs wrap around me, I couldn't hold back my grief any longer.

Our bodies shook as we cried with mine coming from both grief and worry. I'd only been able to speak to Sookie briefly once we'd landed at Dover AFB, but she'd been on her way to the funeral home to make arrangements, at the time, so we hadn't been able to talk for long. I'd been worried that she would hate me; hate me for not protecting him; hate me for not being there to take the bullet that took his life. I'd almost expected her to because it was exactly how I felt. It had been _my _idea for us to join the Marines in the first place. Why should I be the one that got to live when he had so much more to live for? I would've taken that bullet for him if I could have, but it was too late. I was too late to save him and I hated myself for it. In my guilt, I felt like I was the one that killed him.

Sookie ended up getting her emotions in check faster than me, but I figured she was doing it for Amelia's sake so I did what I could to rein in mine as well. The three of us climbed into Alcide's pickup truck with me behind the wheel and followed behind the hearse all the way home to Bon Temps, led by a police escort and no less than a hundred cars behind us. I knew I would appreciate it someday, when I could find it within myself to appreciate anything, but in that moment I was just an empty void.

I hadn't realized none of us had spoken a word at all until I almost missed the turn to the farmhouse and Sookie's voice startled me as she pointed up ahead to her right, saying, "It's there."

_Alcide wouldn't have missed the turn._

Every light in the house was on as we drove up the pitted gravel driveway and I pulled around back and parked by the kitchen when Amelia's small voice came from the backseat asking, "Uncle Eric? Are you staying with us?"

I honestly hadn't thought about it. I hadn't been able to think about much that didn't have to do with Alcide and getting him home. I wasn't even sure Sookie would be willing to talk to me, much less want me to stay with them, but I didn't have to think on it for very long because Sookie spoke up, answering, "Of course he's staying." Her voice was as empty as I felt and I never realized just how full of life she had been up until then, now that it was gone.

_I killed her too._

I got out of the truck and opened the rear door with Amelia launching herself into my arms. How would I explain to my sweet baby girl how sorry I was that I was the one that got to come home and not her father? Sookie had joked that Ame was five going on twenty-five, but I wasn't sure how much she understood about what was going on. It turned out, she knew quite a bit.

"My daddy's in heaven," she said as I carried her inside. I wasn't prepared for her statement; completely caught off guard at having this conversation with her even though it was already on my mind and could only nod, neither knowing what to say nor knowing if I'd have a voice to say anything if I did.

She went on to say, "God needed an angel and he chose daddy, but we'll get to see him again when it's our time to be an angel." The tears were back, streaming down my face, and she looked so much like him that it hurt to look at her, so I pulled her head into the crook of my neck as I sat down on the couch in the living room, unwilling to let her go just yet. She was a part of Alcide and I was just as unwilling to let go of him, but I swore to myself I would do better for her. I would protect her and watch over her; help raise her as much as Sookie would let me.

We'd talked in the abstract about dying; what-if scenarios, but Alcide had never come right out and ask me to watch out for them if something were to happen to him. He didn't have to; it was a given. We were all one big family. One big family that now had one big piece that was missing and could never be replaced.

**SPOV**

I stood silently in the doorway watching Eric and Amelia, with both of them falling asleep on the couch within minutes of sitting down. He looked exhausted, like he hadn't slept in weeks, which could very well have been the case, but then the same could be said for me.

When the strange car had come up the driveway a week earlier Amelia and I had been outside. It was a beautiful day and the sun was high in the sky, so while she rode her bike around the front of the house, I'd been tending to the lawn. Between training exercises and deployments I'd learned to be self-sufficient because Alcide would be gone for long stretches of time. I didn't mind it though, I was proud of him and of Eric. While everyday citizens might support our troops, it meant something very different when you loved the person who was away for months at a time, fighting a war that barely got more than five minutes of press coverage these days. You had to live that life to understand the pride and worry that went with it and I was looking forward to their enlistments ending so I wouldn't have to worry as much anymore.

When I saw the military uniform worn by the man driving and then a chaplain sitting beside him, I knew something had gone terribly wrong. I was listed as next of kin for both of them, I _was_ next of kin for both of them and as they made their way to where I stood, afraid to let out the breath I'd been holding, my whole body started trembling. When they told me it was Alcide that died, my eyes immediately sought out Amelia and my legs carried me to her as I collapsed on the freshly cut grass and held our baby girl while I cried out that they were wrong. There must have been some mistake; someone else had died that day; not my Alcide.

I'd been in love with Alcide since before I'd hit puberty and our relationship was nothing short of spectacular. We were both stubborn as the day was long and where he wanted to take care of me, I wanted to do things for myself. He was pragmatic and I was impetuous, but somehow we made it work, with our opposite natures either complementing the other or creating one hell of a firestorm. He was my anchor, my happily ever after and now he was gone, leaving me to raise our daughter alone.

The week leading up the funeral passed in a haze of people and appointments and I was thankful the shock of it all had allowed me to remain strong and calm for Amelia's sake. She knew her daddy was in heaven now, but I don't think she fully understood that she'd never see him again. He wouldn't be there for her birthdays or proms. He wouldn't give her away at her wedding or get to hold his first grandchild, but I wouldn't allow myself to think about it now. I put it off for another day because in the here and now, my daughter needed her mother, so I would wallow in my grief when the time allowed.

The funeral…I dreaded it. Funerals were meant to give those left behind closure, but there was no closure to be had for me. I didn't want closure. I wanted my husband back. My daughter needed her father. Realistically I knew the dangers of him joining the military, but I was irrationally angry. I didn't sign on for this. I didn't agree to be a single parent and none of this was a part of our plan. He was supposed to come back and we'd maybe try to have another baby and then we'd grow old together, bickering at each other while holding hands as we took our evening stroll. I'd suffered more than my fair share of loss in my lifetime, but I wasn't sure I'd be able to get through losing my best friend; my lover; my husband. I wasn't sure that I wanted to.

I'd left Eric and Amelia on the couch together and kept myself busy unpacking Eric's suitcase and doing his laundry, knowing sleep wouldn't be coming to me that night. The next morning I got Amelia dressed, waking Eric in the process, and then got myself ready knowing we had to get to the church for the service, but I moved slowly knowing deep down that I didn't want to go. Going meant I would be saying goodbye and I wasn't ready to do that yet. I didn't think I'd ever be ready to say goodbye to him and my hands were shaking so bad that I couldn't get my earrings into my ears and ended up throwing them across the room screaming, "THIS IS BULLSHIT!"

It _was_ all bullshit. Why did he have to die? Why did I have to raise Amelia on my own? How could I be both a father and a mother to her? She was the spitting image of him, both physically and with her personality. Would it ever not hurt to look at her?

I collapsed on top of the bed sobbing, the same bed we'd conceived our daughter in, and didn't think I could find the strength to get up. I knew if nothing else, I needed to find it for Amelia's sake because it was just her and me now.

_He'd left us._

I didn't hear Eric come up the stairs or enter the room, but I felt his arms go around me and all it did was weaken whatever resolve I'd managed to muster. For every, "It's not fair," I sobbed out, he returned an, "I'm sorry." I knew he was hurting too. They'd always been close, in some ways closer than Alcide and me, but I was too weak; too lost in my own grief to help him, but I knew he was strong and he'd be able to go on with his life. Eric and I were connected through Alcide and now that he was gone, I knew it was only a matter of time before he left us too. He had his own life to live. My life ended on a mountain in Afghanistan.

We managed to get through the church service and Alcide was buried in the cemetery next to the farmhouse, alongside his parents, with full military honors. I'd managed to do okay until the flag that had been draped over his coffin was folded and handed off to Eric. I watched him kneel down in front of me with tears falling from his eyes as he handed it to me and barely choked out, "On behalf of the President of the United States, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one's service to Country and Corps."

He caught me as I fell forward from my chair, sobbing out loud, and held me through the 21 gun salute and the playing of Taps. The farmhouse had been filled to the brim with food for the wake and Eric somehow managed to carry both Amelia and me back there. He took me upstairs and laid me down on the bed before kissing my forehead and shutting the door behind him. I listened as the house began to fill with the sound of voices and closed my eyes trying to remember the sound of the one voice I wished I could hear. With all of my energy spent, I finally let go. It was the first time I'd slept for longer than an hour in days.

**EPOV**

Sookie was exhausted and I hoped she would stay upstairs and get the rest she obviously needed. I'd woken up that morning when she was lifting Amelia off of my chest, where she'd slept for the night, to get her ready for the service and was in the middle of pressing my uniform when I heard her scream upstairs. I found her sobbing in bed and didn't know what to do. It was my fault she was going through this and all I wanted to do was find some way to fix the unfixable, but every time she'd sob out that it wasn't fair, wasn't fair that I got to come home when he didn't, all I could say was that I was sorry because I was.

The entire town turned up for the funeral and I took care of the host duties at the wake with Amelia a constant shadow at my side. She seemed comforted by my presence and I knew I was comforted by hers, so I relished in the fact that she didn't want to be without me. When the last person finally filtered out of the house she helped me clean up the kitchen and as I was giving her a bath she said, "Mommy's sad."

I nodded, saying, "We all are."

"She misses daddy." Since I'd been back she hadn't been as talkative as she normally was, but I hadn't really expected her to be given what we'd been dealing with. I also hadn't expected her to be as astute as she was at her age.

"We all do," I agreed.

I was thrown for a loop when she asked, "Are you going to be my new daddy?"

I know my mouth was gaping open when I quickly replied, "No. Your daddy will _always_ be your daddy. No one could replace him." No one could fill his shoes; he was one of a kind. Seeing Amelia's fallen face I added, "But I'll always be there for you and help you when you need it. I'm your uncle. We're family."

Amelia's eyes moved to look over my shoulder as she said, "Uncle Eric said he's not gonna be my new daddy."

I turned to see Sookie standing in the bathroom doorway and she looked down at me with swollen red rimmed eyes before looking back at Amelia and agreed, "He's not. He has his own life to live, so it's just gonna be you and me."

She seemed so cold, without any warmth in her voice at all, but I hoped it was just the stress she'd been under and not her finally coming to her senses, placing the blame for Alcide's death squarely on my shoulders where it belonged. I wanted to disagree with her, but the sounds of Amelia crying drew my attention back to her and I pulled her out of the tub, wrapping a towel around her tiny body, and told her, "_You_ are a part of my life and I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be here for you."

**SPOV**

I took Amelia from Eric, pissed at him for making promises to her that he couldn't keep. As I got her into her pajamas and into bed, Eric came into the room and gave her a kiss goodnight before leaving again. I watched him walk out of her bedroom door and wondered just how long it would be until it would be the last time she watched him go, leaving me to have to explain why she'd lost someone else in her life.

I'd noticed how attached she was to him, she'd _always_ been attached to him, but now that Alcide was gone I didn't want her to latch on to the idea of Eric filling the role of her father. Yes, they'd been as close as brothers, but I couldn't expect him to take on that responsibility, nor did I want to go through the grief and disappointment if he decided to change his mind. Eric had had girlfriends through the years and none of them had been serious, to _him_ at least, but I knew it was only a matter of time. He was a good guy and handsome to boot, so he'd eventually settle down one day and have a family of his own. When that happened we couldn't expect him to be there for us all of the time and Amelia would be left devastated with me having to pick up the pieces all over again. I decided to give us all a little bit of time to grieve and get used to the idea of Alcide being gone, but I wouldn't allow us to become dependent on Eric for anything.

I couldn't afford to.

I found Eric downstairs, sitting at the kitchen table, with an open bottle of Jack Daniels in front of him and a nearly empty glass in his hand. I got my own glass and Eric filled it before topping up his own and held it out in front of him, saying, "To Alcide."

"To Alcide," I said, clinking my glass with his. I wasn't normally a whiskey drinker, but at that point I would try just about anything to dull the pain and figured it couldn't hurt.

We were halfway through the once full bottle when Eric finally spoke first, saying, "It's my fault." I couldn't say anything, not knowing what he meant, and only stared at him when he continued, "If only I'd been next to him when the fight started. I could've taken the bullet instead. I _would have_ taken the bullet and then he would be here right now."

He buried his face in his hands and his shoulders shook as he cried, making my heart ache even more. I got up from my seat and knelt down in front of him, wrapping my arms around his body and said, "He wouldn't have wanted that." I knew my words were true as I spoke them. Alcide _wouldn't_ have wanted to watch Eric die any more than Eric wanted to see him die and he wouldn't have thought twice about taking a bullet to save Eric. It was just who he was; who they both were.

When I stood up, Eric wrapped his arms around me, crying into my shirt and making me want to cry as well, but I felt too numb; too detached for the tears to actually break free. I'd managed to wall myself off from feeling much of anything by that point, so I just went through the motions of trying to comfort Eric. I was surprised by his next words.

"Please don't make me leave," he whispered.

I wanted to tell him he could stay forever, if only so I wouldn't have to be alone; have to raise Amelia all by myself, but it was a selfish and unrealistic request, so I gave him his out, saying, "You can stay until you find your own place, but you can't stay here forever. You have your own life to live; you'll have your own family someday and…"

He cut me off, looking up into my eyes, and practically snarled, "_You are my family!_ You and Amelia are all I have left." He clutched my body against his, with his face buried into my stomach, and sobbed out, "I already lost my best friend; _my brother._ Please don't make me leave. I can't lose you guys too. Don't make me be alone."

I tried to soothe him by rubbing his back and saying, "Okay, Eric. Okay." He pulled my down into his lap and continued to sob against my shoulder, rambling out, "I couldn't stand it. I couldn't stand losing both of you too. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I got him killed."

That got my attention more than anything else and I pulled away from him, lifting his chin so he'd look me in the eyes, and asked, "What do you mean? How did _you_ get him killed?"

The tears continued to flow from his eyes as he whispered, "It was _my_ idea to join the Marines. If I hadn't suggested it this never would've happened. It's all my fault that he's gone."

A part of me wanted to blame him; wanted to have someone in front of me I could take out my anger on, but seeing the remorse in his face, I couldn't do it. Alcide and I had talked about him joining the military long before he ever signed up and we'd both agreed it was a good choice. His father had been a onetime Marine and Alcide wanted to follow in his footsteps. Besides, there wasn't much career-wise around our hometown for him to be able to find a decent job when we graduated high school and he'd planned on using the GI Bill, when his enlistment ended, to get a college degree.

Reaching out, I wiped the tears from his eyes, and said, "It's not your fault. He w_anted_ to join. We talked about it a lot and I doubt either one of us could have stopped him." Remembering how stubborn he could be, I smiled softly, adding, "You know how he was; more stubborn than a Mississippi mule."

As I looked into Eric's eyes I realized, out of everyone else, _he_ was the only one who could possibly understand what it was to lose Alcide. What a world without Alcide in it was like and I suddenly felt closer to him than I ever had before because of that connection we shared. Up until then, I'd always looked at Eric as a brother-in-law of sorts, but now we were more like kindred spirits, united in our grief. They came as a package deal when I started dating Alcide and I hadn't minded one bit. He was a good friend to Alcide and an even better uncle to Amelia. You could see how much he loved her when he looked at her, but I didn't want to have any expectations of him. It wasn't fair to either one of us, but it was especially unfair to Amelia.

I was so caught up in my thoughts I hadn't noticed the look in his eyes had changed until his lips were suddenly on mine. They were soft and warm and I was so taken by surprise that when his tongue traced across my lower lip, my mouth opened up all on its own. It had been so long since I'd been kissed, I lost myself in it for a moment before my senses came back to me. It was wrong. _This_ was wrong; the wrong lips; the wrong tongue; the wrong arms around me when I needed to be held more than I ever had before and I pushed away from him, jumping up off of his lap, saying, "No!" before running from the room. I threw myself onto the bed and eventually cried myself to sleep, all the while begging Alcide to forgive me for what I had done.

I panicked the next morning when I peeked into Amelia's room and saw that her bed was empty. I checked the downstairs and didn't find her, but seeing that all of the doors were still locked had me going back upstairs where I found her curled up with Eric on his bed, both of them sound asleep. I wanted to be angry at him; angry for kissing me; angry for being the one my daughter turned to in the middle of the night, but I couldn't because only hours earlier we had turned to each other as well. I knew he was hurting, maybe as much as me, but I still didn't want to get too comfortable with his presence in our lives knowing it was only a matter of time before he left too.

**EPOV**

I don't know what came over me when I kissed Sookie. I'd always thought she was beautiful, but I'd never thought about her _that way._ At first she was Alcide's girl and then Alcide's wife. The thought of doing anything with her in a romantic sense never crossed my mind because it was a line I would never cross as Alcide's best friend, but seeing how sad she was and feeling my own grief over his loss; a loss only _she_ could understand had me crossing that line. She was one more part of Alcide; she had been since before we were teenagers and in that moment, I needed to find some way to feel close to him again. Sookie was that bridge and I reacted without thinking, but when she broke our kiss; pulled away from me and took off to her room, I felt like the biggest asshole to ever walk the planet. My best friend was buried just a few hundred yards away and there I was putting the moves on his widow on the very same day he'd been laid to rest.

He'd definitely shoot me now if he could.

When I tried to apologize to her the next morning all she would say was, "I don't want to talk about it." I couldn't really blame her; I didn't want to talk about it either. That kiss only added to my guilt because I couldn't deny, even to myself, that it somehow felt right. But that couldn't be right because she was Alcide's wife; she was Amelia's mother; she wasn't, nor would she ever, be mine.

And yet somehow, in the days and weeks that followed, I couldn't get the idea of having something _more_ with Sookie to leave my mind. I tried not to let it show, only showing any affection I felt to Amelia, but watching her move numbly through life was hard to do. She didn't smile much; she hardly ever laughed. It was as if she wouldn't allow herself to find any joy in life and while I understood how she felt, I did my best to put on a happy face for Amelia's sake. Even at her young age she knew something was wrong with Sookie; knew her father's death had left a scar on not only her and I, but on her mother as well and it hadn't even begun to heal.

I still felt guilt over my role in Alcide's death; guilt for my growing feelings for Sookie and the only thing I could think to do to assuage any of it was to try and make her life easier. The first time she'd run out to get groceries and came home to find me cutting the grass, she lost her mind yelling at me saying _she_ could do it. I knew _she_ could do it; she _had been_ doing it all along, but I knew if Alcide had been there _he_ would've done it, so I didn't see what the problem was; at first.

When I found her changing out the float inside of the toilet tank to stop it from running, I offered to do it for her and she nearly bit off my head again saying she didn't _need_ my help.

I knew she was just lashing out, still grieving over his loss, but it didn't make me feel any better because I knew I'd come to _need_ her. When she wasn't busy biting my head off, my interaction with her and Amelia were slowly but surely healing my broken heart. I could tell when her mind wasn't on her grief and the difference was startling. I could see now what Alcide had been talking about when he'd said she glowed from the inside out, but whenever her thoughts reversed themselves, it would grow dim again. I wanted to fix her, give her a reason to blind us all with her inner light, but she would have to let me first.

**SPOV**

Weeks slowly turned into months since Alcide's death and life went on, but in my heart I couldn't let go. Eric hadn't made any moves to find a place of his own and had begun taking classes in Shreveport to get a degree in business. He and Alcide had always dreamed of owning their own bar one day and Eric wanted to make their dream a reality in his honor. I watched his interactions with Amelia, the love he obviously felt for her was palpable, just as palpable as the hesitation he felt whenever he interacted with me. I couldn't blame him for it; I practically disemboweled him every time he tried to do something to help out around the house. Aside from the morning after, we never discussed our kiss and he never tried anything like it again, but I knew it was still in the back of both of our minds.

I felt guilty. Guilty for kissing him back; guilty for finding any pleasure in it; guilty for seeking comfort in someone else's arms when all I could think about was all of the times Alcide and I had fought thanks to me being pigheaded. Alcide would be so hurt if he was here now, but somewhere, in the back of my mind, a part of me thought that might not be the case. He wasn't selfish enough to want me to go through the rest of my life alone. His heart was too big; he was too good of a man for that. We'd talked about it, late at night when it was just the two of us lying in bed, but I'd always told him there could never be someone else that could take his place; that _he_ was irreplaceable, but he would always counter that they wouldn't be _replacing_ him; that our hearts had more than enough love to share with more than just one person. I didn't want to listen to him then, instead bringing up his fifth grade ex, Debbie Pelt, as a red herring to my feelings, because while my head heard every word he said, my heart didn't want to listen.

Now I had Eric here trying to fill the void Alcide's death had left behind and I both loved and hated him for it, but I tried to keep it all to myself as best as I could. I tried to keep my interactions with him cold and detached knowing we were only a stopgap in his life. He was here out of guilt and grief and when he got over it, he would move on, but I couldn't stop Amelia's love for him from growing. Seeing how happy he made her, I didn't really want to and instead I knew I'd just hate him even more when he left her behind; when he left _us_ behind.

It had been ten months since Alcide's death and Christmas was only a few weeks away. I hadn't wanted to decorate or celebrate the holidays at all, but I knew I would have to eventually do it for Amelia. It had started getting darker earlier in the evening now that the winter months were upon us and I was going through her book bag at the kitchen table when Eric walked in grumbling about missing the turn for the driveway again. I might've chuckled at him had it not been for the piece of paper in my hand. It was a flyer for a Daddy/Daughter dance they were having at the school and I didn't realize my hand had been shaking until Eric stilled it with his own.

Taking the paper, he read it, before kneeling down in front of me and wiping the tears from my face that I didn't know had been falling, as he said, "It's okay. I'll take her."

Everything I'd been feeling; everything I'd been pushing down so I wouldn't _have_ to feel it came bubbling out and I screamed, "YOU'RE NOT HER FATHER! YOU CAN'T REPLACE HIM! NO ONE CAN!"

With the way I'd been treating him over the last several months, all but pushing him away in any way I could, I was sure _this_ would be the breaking point and have him walking right out the door. I turned my back on him, not wanting to see him leave now that I realized I wanted him to stay. For all of my attempts at not becoming attached to him; not wanting to depend on him for anything; they'd all been in vain. I'd gotten used to having him around; used to have another grown up in the house and the thought of him not being there anymore was more painful than I expected. He'd kept me company; kept me sane when I was sure insanity was just around the bend. The lives of everyone around us had gone on, but he understood my pain better than anyone else. I wasn't in love with him, but then I'd barely given myself permission to even like having him around. I did, however, appreciate him and loved how he was with Amelia, sometimes being the parent when I couldn't even bear to get out of bed, even if I never told him so. And I'd be lying if I said I never wondered if there could be more between us. He was fun and kind and not difficult to look at, at all, but those thoughts merely fueled my guilt.

I didn't know how Eric felt about me though and while I knew he hadn't been seeing anyone in a romantic sense since he'd been back, I reasoned it was because he'd been busy with school and there were slim pickings in Bon Temps. I'd expected he would've found a pretty young co-ed to spend some time with by now, but he only ever went straight to school and back home again. He spent all of his free time at home with me and Amelia, but now that was all going to change. Because of my bitchy ways, Amelia was going to lose the only other man in her life; in _our_ life and it was all my fault.

I felt the heat from his body as he moved to stand behind me and the hair stood up on my arm moments before his hand came to rest on it, as he softly said, "I know that. No one could ever replace him; for _any_ of us, but all I'm trying to do is be there for you; for _both_ of you."

"Why?" I wondered out loud.

He took a deep breath before admitting, "Because I…I care for you; for both of you and I'll always be there for you both no matter what."

"But you'll leave," I argued softly. "You'll find a nice girl and settle down and you'll leave." I knew it wasn't fair to push him away and then accuse him of eventually leaving, but I'd learned all too well that life wasn't fair.

He moved to stand in front of me and when I refused to meet his eyes, he tilted my chin up with his fingertips. He looked nervous, but resigned as he said, "I'm not going anywhere until you kick me out. Sookie, I…I _feel_ something for you as more than just my friend and the fact that you're my best friend's widow makes me feel like shit because of it, but I can't help it. If you don't feel the same way, if you _never_ return those feelings back to me, I'll still be here for you."

I stared back at him not knowing what to say. I could admit, at least to myself, that I felt something other than friendship for Eric, but I was still confused as to what that was. He was right though; he could never replace Alcide in my heart, but was my heart big enough to let him in too?

**EPOV**

Everything had been left up in the air after I admitted my feelings to Sookie. I knew she was still grieving and I'd give her all the time that she needed, but I didn't want her to think I was just hanging around until something better came along. Over the months I'd been living there I'd come to care for her more than I felt comfortable with, but that didn't change the fact that I did. I wanted to be more than just friends with her and hoped Alcide would understand; would know that I would do my best to do right by both of them. I would do anything for both Sookie and Amelia no matter what it was; I just hoped Sookie didn't decide what was best for them both was for me to leave.

Sookie had been abnormally quiet in the weeks leading up to the Daddy/Daughter dance and I was worried she was going to ask me to leave once we got through the Christmas holidays. She'd stayed in her room a lot with the door closed; I assumed thinking over everything, so I tried to mentally prepare myself for when she asked me to move out. The old Compton place on the other side of the cemetery had been abandoned long ago and I looked into buying it so I wouldn't be far away. I didn't want Sookie to feel like I was stalking her, but I wanted to be close enough to be there at a moment's notice if they needed me. I'd gotten attached to both of them, but especially to Amelia and the thought of not being able to see her everyday broke my heart. Her smile could brighten up my day no matter what was on my mind and she shined just as brightly as her mother. Looking at her, her resemblance to Alcide didn't hurt me anymore. If anything it warmed me; made me feel almost whole again and I cherished her presence in my life.

She'd been extra excited about going to the dance and I'd been sure to compliment her pretty dress, although it paled in comparison to her beauty. Sookie had curled her hair into ringlets that hung down passed her shoulders and she spent the majority of the night having me twirl her around the gymnasium floor. I didn't mind, even if my stomach did, because the sound of her happy laughter echoing around me was worth any price.

I was busy concentrating on the road, hoping I wouldn't miss the turn onto the driveway again when I noticed the lights up ahead. I stopped when I reached them and just stared until Amelia's voice shouted gleefully behind me, "Christmas decorations! Mommy decorated!"

I made the turn while she continued to chatter on behind me, hoping out loud that she could help decorate the Christmas tree, but the only thing I could do was marvel over the fact that Sookie had managed to string lights down each side of the driveway from the road all the way up to the house. She was waiting for us on the front porch with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and Amelia scampered out of the car before I ever got my seatbelt off, with a chorus of "Yay! Christmas lights!" as she made her way into the house.

However, I was nervous and didn't want to read into anything. Over the last few months Sookie and I had talked a lot about Alcide, sharing memories with each other, and me telling her about the light, be it hers, the runway's, or the sun, guiding him home. I couldn't allow myself to hope.

When I made it up to the bottom step I looked up at her saying, "The lights look nice. I would've helped, you know." That was still an issue at times; me helping, but I didn't want to leave it unsaid.

Sookie took a step down, so that we were eye to eye, and said, "I know. You help; I bitch you out for it; it's what we do. But this," she gestured towards the lights, "I couldn't ask for your help with."

"Why?" I asked, almost afraid of what she was going to say.

She reached down and took my hand in hers, saying, "It's my gift to you. I want you to be able to find your way here; to find your way _home._" Seeing the smile I felt forming on my face, she squeezed my hand, adding, "I want you to feel like this is your home, but I can't make you any promises Eric. I _do_ feel something for you; something _more than_ friendship and if you're willing to give me the time to wrap my head around it, I think I'd like to see where that can go."

I climbed up another step to be closer to her and leaned down, placing a soft kiss on her forehead, saying, "I'll wait for as long as you need."

Sookie was more than worth the wait.

_Five years later…_

**SPOV**

I looked around the bar at the smiling faces and was happy the grand opening had been such a success. Eric had worked so hard; we _both_ had, but I really wanted this to succeed for him. He poured his heart and soul into opening up the town's only bar and grill, but seeing how much everyone was enjoying themselves, I wasn't too worried anymore.

Eric and I had come a long way over the years. We'd spent months doing nothing more than talking and holding hands. More months passed before we even kissed again, but he was always patient, never pushing me to go farther than I was ready to and letting me take the lead. He was more understanding than I had any right to expect, but I think the fact he loved Alcide too only helped me to come around. If they had never met; if Alcide had been nothing more than a sad story to him, I doubt we would've lasted. I needed the man in my life to know how important the one before him was to me and not be jealous or intimidated by it, but cherish his role in my life as much as I did. We both knew Alcide could never be replaced; he was irreplaceable to both of us, but we were able to expand on our love for him to include each other. It no longer felt like we were betraying him; we were celebrating his love of life and of us and I know he wouldn't have picked anyone else but Eric to be my husband or Amelia's father, if he couldn't be there to do it himself.

After the last person had left and the last table had been wiped clean, Eric came up to me with a sleepy Amelia at his side holding onto one hand with the other holding a sleeping Jackson on his shoulder. We'd named our son after Alcide's father, a move Eric had said he'd already decided years earlier since he'd been the only father figure in his life. It only made me love him more and as we turned onto Hummingbird Lane, our family once again numbering four, I smiled as Eric took the turn onto the driveway in the pitch black of night, happy he no longer needed the lights to guide his way home.

***peeks out from under angst blanket* There are a lot of videos on YouTube of fallen soldiers arriving at airports on their way home if you're inclined to check them out. The story above is what happened when I stumbled across a few and there's a somber picture on my profile that goes hand in hand with this story if you'd like to see it. I'll do my best to try and keep the next update lighthearted, whenever that'll be. Thanks for reading!**


	20. Number One

**A/N: Umm…Hi! I know, I know, I have AI and TOTD updates to get to, but I have all of these other Eric's floating around in my brain too. There's a Pirate one; an FBI Agent one; a Secret Service one and, my favorite, an Irish one (he's especially nummy), but you all are getting Highway Patrolman Eric right now. Hopefully, you'll find him nummy too.**

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns them all. I'm just glad my overloaded brain is one Eric lighter. *ahh* **

Number One

**EPOV**

"Have I made myself clear, Northman?"

"Crystal," I replied through gritted teeth. I hadn't intended on my accidental pun, but since I'd just had my ass reamed by Sergeant DeCastro, I couldn't even enjoy the irony of using the name of the girl who'd been the cause of my ass reaming. I'd pulled over one Crystal Norris at the end of my shift, three days earlier, for a minor traffic violation. She'd failed to use her turn signal when changing lanes and considering I'd seen her entering onto the highway from the Hotshot exit, I thought it would be worth a look see into her piece of shit pickup truck. Hotshot was well known for their meth labs and if I happened to see anything left in plain view, or she was stupid enough to give me permission to search her vehicle, then it couldn't hurt.

Unfortunately, she was a complete nutcase. She'd tried tossing her hair and flirting with me, which might have worked had she not been, well… _her,_ but when that didn't work she became irate. While I didn't see anything illegal in her vehicle, and knowing there'd be no way in hell she'd agree to a search, I decided to write her a ticket for every little infraction I could see thanks to her tirade. Even if I'd known then that she was the Mayor's niece, which DeCastro just made perfectly clear to me, I _still_ would've written the tickets.

_I'd have just been more prepared for my ass chewing._

However, I wasn't prepared for her to run to her uncle claiming I'd sexually harassed her, only writing her the tickets when she'd refused to go out with me.

_One: I wouldn't fuck her with Herveaux's dick._

_And Two: I wouldn't fuck her with Herveaux's dick._

She was a three-bagger, but since it wasn't uncommon for _many_ of the patrolmen to come across potential _dates_ while out on the road, DeCastro assumed, _incorrectly I might add_, that her story was true. Between working twelve hour shifts and a stream of endless overtime, I didn't have time to meet women anywhere else and I wasn't about to dip my _pen_ into _company ink_ after seeing how that dumb bastard Herveaux faired after fucking our fellow officer, Debbie Pelt, after one too many.

_He was lucky he didn't have a pet rabbit or else he'd have found it on his stove in a pot of boiling water._

But that didn't mean I should be punished for the crazy bitches that were out there either, so fuck that and fuck her. Women had it easy when all they'd have to do is cry 'wolf' and poor bastards like me would have to take the fall whether it was true or not. Admittedly, those tactics had worked on me in the past where if they were pleasant, both visually and verbally, I'd let them off with a warning, but it would be a cold day in hell before I ever did that again.

Fuck. Them. All.

**SPOV**

I was running soooo late for my lunch in Shreveport with Amelia. We'd first met at the rehabilitation center in Shreveport where we both worked as physical therapists and our friendship grew quickly. We mostly dealt with people who had surgery for one reason or another and needed to strengthen their muscles again. Hip replacements; knee replacements; those were the majority of our cases, so at times it closely resembled a Senior Citizen's Center. My day off had started off with me _just_ straightening up the kitchen a bit, which led to me _just_ throwing a load of laundry in, and then _just_ organizing my closet a little and before I knew it, I was running late. At least I managed to remember my iPod and had my 'guilty pleasures' playlist on hoping to lose myself in bringing Sexy Back along the way. I'd been too busy singing and dancing along (as much as I could with my seatbelt on) to notice the highway patrol car behind me with their lights flashing until I'd heard a thundering, "PULL OVER," over the music.

_I'd had to turn it up to 'ear splitting' in order to drown out my own voice._

My body immediately flushed, just like when Mrs. Beck had caught me looking at the trashier romance novels in the library when I was ten, and I quickly pulled over onto the side of the highway while turning the radio down. I'd never been stopped by a police officer before and my hands were shaking in my nervousness as I straightened out my clothing, as though I'd be less likely to get in trouble if I was wrinkle free. I'd jumped in my seat hearing the loud rapping on my window and turned seeing a shiny brass belt buckle, with a holstered gun on the side, and a blue shirt, so I quickly rolled down my window while mentally berating myself for not doing that sooner.

The next thing I knew, steely blue eyes had replaced the brass buckle and I can't say that I minded one bit. He was handsome as all get out and I nervously smiled while pushing my hair back over my shoulders since it had been flying all over the place when Justin and I were singing our duet. He looked a little pissed off and a nervous chuckle left my lips as I asked, "Is there a problem officer?"

"License. Registration. Insurance," he barked.

_Good Lord! Who pissed in YOUR Wheaties?_

I turned, reaching towards my glove box to get the items he'd _demanded_, when he barked at me again, saying, "I don't have _all day._"

"Neither do I," I mumbled quietly before turning back with my information in hand. He snatched it from me and stormed back to his patrol car, but I wasn't sorry he'd gone since he seemed like a giant asshole. It wasn't too much of a chore watching him walk away in my side view mirror either.

_Talk about 'sexy back'. He had a great ass too._

And that ass, who didn't have _all day,_ left me sitting there for a full twenty minutes before gracing me with his presence again, only to thrust my things back at me along with an added ticket.

"What's _this_ for?" I asked stupidly. I knew he was doing _something_ back there, but he hadn't even told me what I'd done to get pulled over.

He just gave me an angry pointed look before hiding his eyes behind a pair of sunglasses, saying, "You were speeding." He turned to walk away again, but paused, adding, "And you have horrible tastes in music," before taking his stupid sexy ass back to his car. I sat there staring at the ticket in my hands and heard him peel off the shoulder of the road before zooming by me when I finally found where it said how fast I'd been going. I blinked wondering if my eyes were playing tricks on me.

_Four._

I'd been going _FOUR_ miles over the speed limit. If I was more of a badass I would've ripped that ticket to shreds and gone after him, throwing the pieces in his face like it was New Year's Eve in Time Square, but, sadly, I wasn't a badass. I was Sookie Stackhouse, so I didn't do those sorts of things, but I would certainly fantasize about them and fantasy him would get a big what-for.

_And, maybe after my anger faded, I'd fantasize about Officer Asshole too._

**EPOV**

I kind of felt bad after giving my first ticket of the day to the blond with the bad taste in music. She hadn't been flirting, or anything like that, but I was still in a fucked off mood. Unfortunately for her, she'd caught my eye when she'd driven passed me with her mouth wide open (I now assume she was singing along to bad music) and her blond hair flying around like she was trying to mimic a helicopter hoping to take flight. When my radar told me she as doing four miles over the speed limit, I hesitated for the briefest of moments, before saying 'fuck it' to myself.

_Four or forty, she was still speeding._

Six tickets later and ticket number one was _still_ eating at me knowing I had taken my earlier frustration out on her. Truth be told, had I not been in a 'take no prisoners' mood, _I_ probably would've flirted with _her_ and I hadn't been too pissed off to notice she hadn't been wearing a wedding band. That didn't mean she didn't have a boyfriend out there somewhere, but there was nothing wrong with a little healthy competition and I was cocky enough to believe that I'd win.

_At least I WOULD'VE won before giving her a ticket for going four fucking miles over the speed limit._

I was contemplating ripping up my copy of her citation and tracking her down to tell her to disregard it completely when the sounds of horns blaring got my attention. A late model Mustang GT blew by where I'd been parked behind a billboard on the side of the highway and I threw my patrol car into drive, taking off after it. It took me getting up to 90 miles per hour before I caught up to him, but as soon as I got behind him, he signaled to the right and pulled over onto the shoulder. I could see in his side view mirror that he was just a kid and figured he'd been out joy riding, seeing how fast he could go, and I walked up to the window, asking, "Where's the fire?"

"Huh?" he asked, swallowing hard.

The kid was sweating bullets and I chuckled, saying, "You were going a little fast, don't you think?"

"Umm…yes sir," he replied. I wasn't sure if his eyes would ever set back into his head properly seeing how bugged out they were.

I shook my head at him feeling amused since there was once a time when I'd been in his exact position and it was because of how that cop had treated me with the same amusement that made me want to be one. He'd cut me a break and I knew right then that I more than likely wouldn't be giving this kid a ticket if his information turned out okay when I looked him up.

"License, registration, and insurance, son."

_Christ, was I really that old?_

I supposed I was because they were looking younger and younger these days and as I walked back to my patrol car with Benedict Talley's ID in hand, I wondered if there'd ever come a time when I'd have my own kid.

_I sure as shit wouldn't get them a Mustang GT._

I'd just reached for the door handle of my cruiser when I heard from behind me, "I'm gonna need my stuff back, _Sir_."

I turned automatically and saw Talley standing a few feet away with a gun in his hand pointed right at me. His expression had gone from a frightened kid into a stone cold killer and as my eyes took in his finger, already pressing down on the trigger, I felt my Kevlar vest against my chest with every expansion of my lungs. But that would do me no good since his gun was aimed at my head and all I could do was wonder if I'd even make it out of there alive to ever have the chance at having a kid.

**SPOV**

_My God… _

Amelia and her nonstop chatter had kept us at the diner for not only lunch, but then dinner as well. Just like my list of chores, our conversation started off with one thing that led to another and then another and then another. She was appalled when I showed her my ticket and let a bunch of expletives fly, but her tune changed in a heartbeat when I described what Officer Asshole looked like.

'_Om nom nom' was repeated numerous times; more than four: the number of miles over the speed limit I'd been traveling._

I was tired, but grateful that I'd missed the rush hour traffic. The further away from Shreveport I got, the less crowded the highway was and as I rounded a bend in the road, the flashing red lights up ahead immediately caught my eye in the darkening night. I wondered if it was Officer Asshole ruining some other person's day for committing the ultimate crime of listening to Justin Timberlake, but as I got closer, I couldn't believe what I saw.

It _was_ Officer Asshole! There was no mistaking his height and build (it was seared into my memory) and there was a guy standing a few feet away pointing a gun right at him!

_Just what kind of music had HE been listening too?_

I looked around in a complete panic, not knowing what I was looking for, but not knowing what to do either. There were no other cars in sight and I'd taken my foot off the gas pedal, letting my car slow down on its own, while trying to think of something I could do. I knew I just couldn't drive by and hope for the best, but I didn't even have a can of pepper spray with me to use as a weapon.

I pounded my hand against the steering wheel in frightened frustration wondering what in the hell I was going to do when it dawned on me.

_My car was a weapon._

I didn't have time to think about it after that. The distance was closing between us quickly and while I'd slowed down to about forty miles an hour from the fifty-five I'd been going (thanks to my ticket, I'd double checked every few minutes), I knew I'd have to time it just right. The guy with the gun was standing closer to the edge of the driving lane with Officer Asshole standing further back, right by his patrol car, so I turned off my headlights hoping it would give me a few more seconds and praying I'd have the element of surprise on my side.

Just as the guy seemed to hear my car, he turned his head towards me and everything that happened after that, happened quickly. There was a flash of light; a loud shot rang out; and then he flew over the hood of my car and into my windshield.

**EPOV**

"SHOTS FIRED! OFFICER DOWN! SHOTS FIRED! OFFICER DOWN!"

I let go of the radio mike on my collar just as the pain started to register through the ebbing adrenaline coursing through me. The bullet had ripped through my shoulder, throwing me down onto the ground, and felt like it was on fire, but I managed to pull myself back up onto my feet and stared in shock at the scene before me. I really didn't think I'd be the one walking away after seeing the look in that kid's eyes.

He was going to kill me.

But now _I_ was the one on my feet and seeing the mangled mess he was now, with his unmoving body halfway in through the broken windshield, he most definitely wasn't walking away. The bullet had ripped through my left shoulder making my left arm hang limply at my side; I couldn't even feel my fingers and being that I was left handed it would make things difficult, but all things considered, I couldn't really complain. As I started making my way towards my savior, I could hear the sounds of sirens rapidly approaching, but I blocked them out when I _really_ took in the sight before me.

_It looked just like ticket number one's car._

I shook my head in disbelief, chanting, "No fucking way," over and over until I got to the driver's side door and saw the blond head lying against the deployed airbag. "Holy shit!" I shouted, yanking her door open and asking, "Are you okay?"

She didn't move and I knew better than to try and move her, but seeing the blood on the airbag and the tiny shards of glass littering her hair was making my good hand twitch. I wanted to pull her out of the car and shake her awake; apologize for being such a dick and thank her for saving my life.

_I'd definitely be ripping up that ticket._

Since she was facing away from me, I peered up and over through the broken windshield and saw that her face was pretty cut up, but nothing too bad that I could see and I crouched down next to her just as my entire squad came screeching up to the scene. Her arm didn't look damaged, so I patted it with my good hand, asking, "Number One? Can you hear me? Say something."

I couldn't think straight to try and remember her name, but I sighed in relief when I heard her moan.

_Moaning was good. Other types of moaning would be even better, but I'd take what I could get._

I was surrounded by a sea of blue seconds later with everyone clamoring around us and I moved to give the EMT's room to work on her while I answered DeCastro's questions on what had happened. He tried to get me to get on a gurney, but I refused to even get into the ambulance until Number One was out of her car. I was still dumbfounded that she'd done anything to help me, much less put herself at such a big risk. There was no way she'd done it accidentally; I'd seen the car approaching and the headlights go out in my peripheral vision, but everything had happened so fast, I didn't have time to think about much of anything except dying. He could've have very easily turned his gun on her and while I might have been able to get a shot off to take him down, it could've been too late to save her.

_Did she not have any self-preservation instincts?_

"Well, looky here!" Herveaux shouted.

I forced my eyes away from Number One to where Alcide was standing by Talley's trunk. The trajectory of Number One's car as she slammed into Talley made her crash right into the left rear side of the Mustang, with the impact causing the trunk to pop open, and I was close enough and tall enough to be able to see the brick's of cocaine underneath the blanket he'd just pulled back from where I stood.

_At least that explained it._

I hadn't been able to figure out what had made him willing to kill me in order to get away, especially since I hadn't planned on ticketing him at all, but the threat of twenty-plus years in prison was a big motivator to some. I felt like an even bigger asshole now knowing I wasn't going to ticket a kid easily doing thirty miles over the speed limit while I'd ticketed Number One for a whole fucking four.

_Maybe she should've hit ME with her car instead._

My attention was drawn back when I heard one of the EMT's say, "She's waking up," and I scrambled over to the side of the gurney they'd just placed her on.

Her eyes fluttered open and she hissed in pain before seeing me staring down at her. I could tell she was still a little out of it, with her eyes trying to focus on me, before she smiled softly and sighed, "Officer Asshole…you're okay."

I wasn't the only one to laugh at her name for me; Herveaux thought she was hilarious, but she'd earned the right to call me whatever in the hell she wanted for the rest of her life and I smiled back at her, asking, "How are you feeling Number One?"

Her eyebrows furrowed hearing her own nickname and I couldn't help staring at her face. Even covered in tiny cuts and blood from the broken glass and with a black eye forming, she was prettier than I had remembered. I must have been too busy glaring and blaming her for other people's misdeeds to notice earlier.

_Officer Asshole was a more apt nickname than I'd care to admit._

"Number One?" she asked, looking confused before she grinned, adding, "Does that make you Number Two since you were shitty?"

She seemed a bit punch drunk, which was to be expected after what she'd just been through, so I walked alongside her gurney as they wheeled her towards the ambulance, not caring who would hear my confession as I admitted, "I'm _so_ sorry for the way I acted earlier and I certainly don't deserve your forgiveness, but…what you did…after what _I_ did…I…I just…I'll forever be in your debt."

My eyes had dropped to her hands as I spoke, the shame over how I'd treated her earlier weighing heavily on me, but when she hadn't said anything I forced my eyes back up to her face and saw her own eyes were closed again. I wasn't sure how much of my apology she'd heard, but I climbed into the ambulance after her and sat next to her gurney, not wanting to leave her alone after everything she'd done for me. Her eyes fluttered open again as soon as they hit the sirens when we'd hit the city limits and she looked surprised to see me as she repeated, "Officer Asshole…you're okay."

The EMT riding in the back with us chuckled and I smiled down at her, unable to stop myself from brushing her hair out of her face, as I said, "I guess that means you're still mad at me, huh?"

She yawned and her eyes fluttered shut again as she mumbled, "No…you brought sexy back."

**SPOV**

I had the weirdest dream. Even as I felt myself slowly waking up I could vividly remember dancing with Justin Timberlake, who was dressed as a cop, that somehow then morphed into some Star Trek thing where Captain Picard told me, "You have the con number one," and left me flying the Starship Enterprise.

_Who in the hell has dreams like that?_

More confusing than my dream was where in the hell I was once I opened my eyes. I blinked and moved my hands to rub the hospital room hallucination from my vision, only to discover there were tubes and wires attached to them.

"Sookie! You're awake!"

I cringed and closed my eyes again, whispering, "Do you even _have_ an indoor voice Amelia?" Now that I was awake, my head was pounding and I tried to recall the last thing I could remember. It came back to me in fragments, but I eventually remembered all the way up to when I had to make the choice between saving Officer Asshole or minding my own business. My only hope now was that God would understand when it was my time to pass on and I couldn't muster up much guilt over my actions yet. While Officer Asshole had been an asshole (hence the nickname), just the fact that he'd chosen to be a police officer gave him more brownie points with me than the low life who looked willing to kill him over God knows what. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't worth taking Officer Asshole's life.

Thinking about it all made me realize that I didn't even know what happened after that. My memories ended with the crash and my eyes popped open with me making my headache even worse when I screeched at Amelia, "What happened to Officer Asshole? Is he okay?"

Her eyes took on a dreamy look as she asked, "You mean Officer Sex-On-A-Stick? Yeah, he's fine."

I slumped back with a relieved, "Oh…well, that's good."

I was too afraid to ask about the other guy right now, so I set that aside to think about later.

"He's been by checking on you like every hour on the hour," Amelia said.

"Who?" I asked, still not feeling quite right. I felt loopy and my head was all over the place.

"Officer McFuckMe," she purred.

"Oh, is he Irish?" I snorted and winced at the pain it caused.

"Does it matter?" she asked, waggling her eyebrows.

_And THIS was how lunch dates with Amelia ended up lasting for hours on end._

I just shook my head, not wanting to prolong anything since I still felt weird, and asked, "When can I go home? What's wrong with me?"

"They were just waiting on you to wake up and make sure you weren't any wackier than normal. You know, like randomly saving some cop's life by wielding your Chevy Malibu. Sookie Stackhouse: Malibu Warrior Princess. Maybe you could get your own Barbie named after you!"

Amelia's words sat like a huge rock in the pit of my gut and I guessed 'later' ended up being right now, so I whispered, "Did he die?"

I didn't have to specify who and her eyes softened making mine mist up now that I knew for sure that I'd taken a life. Granted, I'd done it to save someone else's life and if I had to do it all over again, I still would, but that didn't make me feel any better about it. Amelia crawled up alongside of me on the bed and wrapped her arms around me as I wept onto her shoulder, telling me, "You know he would have killed that cop, right?"

"How can we really know, though?" I cried. "Maybe he would've just run away or something. I just panicked and knew I couldn't live with myself if I saw McFuckMe's death on the news."

My sobs got heavier, but the sound of a second voice startled me when I heard it say, "He would've killed me."

**EPOV**

The sight of her crying was worse than the pain from being shot, especially knowing she was crying over something she'd done to save me; a complete stranger who'd been nothing but a complete dick to her during our one brief meeting. I forced the 'McFuckMe' nickname aside (but it would be taken out later and thoroughly examined) and entered her room. She'd been out of it for a few hours now, but I couldn't stay with her the whole time. I'd had to give a statement and get my wound treated, so I kept running back and forth, in between x-rays and talking to the police chief, to check on her. I felt better now that she was finally awake, but I hated that she felt guilty over her actions. I understood it, but I hated it.

Her red rimmed blue eyes stared back at me and I could see she was going to have one hell of a shiner in another few hours, but she was still just as pretty as I'd remembered. While I wanted to take away any guilt or pain she may have felt, I hadn't been lying, so I repeated, "He would've killed me. I could see it in his eyes and I doubt I had a full sixty seconds left to live when you saved me."

"Why?" she asked. "What did he do? Why did he want to kill you?"

I was found I was more than a little envious of her friend's position, wishing I could be the one to comfort her like that, but it wasn't my place, nor did I deserve to, and stood there stoically as I answered, "I'm not really sure. He seemed like nothing more than a nervous kid, scared that he'd been pulled over and the next thing I knew, he was out of his car with a gun pointed at me." Her eyes never left mine and they furrowed when I winced, temporarily forgetting my wound when I'd tried to shrug, as I added, "We found a bunch of drugs in his trunk, so that may be why, but all I know is that he _was_ going to kill me."

Her eyes traveled across my chest and lingered on my arm in the sling, asking, "What happened? How did you get hurt?"

I caught myself from almost shrugging again and said, "He got a shot off just as…well, you know…right when…"

"I killed him with my car," she whispered, finishing for me.

I had been trying to find a more vanilla way to say something other than those very words and came up with, "When you saved my life."

She shook her head minutely, as if she didn't believe me, but only asked, "Are you okay?"

She looked so sad and all I could remember was how bright her personality had been that afternoon, right before I turned into Officer Asshole, and I wanted to see her smile again, but didn't know how to make that happen and blurted out, "I'd feel better if you smiled or at least didn't look so sad."

Her friend seemed to think that was her cue to leave because _she_ was smiling as she got up and said, "I'm just going to go and see about getting you outta here Sook, but take your time with Officer Mc…"

"Amelia!" she shouted as a blush bloomed on her cheeks, only making her friend laugh even harder as she walked out of the room. Looking back at me, she smiled shyly, saying, "Sorry. She has a terminal case of ADHD." At my quizzical look, she explained, "Amelia Doesn't Have Decency and it's terminal because I'm going to kill her for it."

We both laughed and then we both groaned from the pain it caused only making us laugh and alternately groan harder. When we finally calmed down she jutted her chin forward, asking, "What's wrong with your arm?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "The doctor said something about nerve damage and I might have to go to physical therapy. The bullet passed through my shoulder and at first I couldn't even move my arm or feel my hand, but it's starting to tingle now and he said it'll probably take some time before I feel normal again."

She smiled again, and I was liking the way it looked more and more, when she said, "Physical therapy, huh?"

"Yes," I answered hesitantly. "Why?"

"I'd like to offer you a deal," she began. "A barter of services; you see, I happen to be a physical therapist, so I'd be happy to treat you free of charge."

This was sounding better and better, but I couldn't imagine what she'd want in return and asked, "In exchange for?"

Her eyebrows furrowed and her lips scrunched up like an angry kitten as she chided, "You rip up that ticket you gave me! Four miles? FOUR? What kind of cockamamie BS was that?"

I held up my good hand, trying not to laugh, and said, "Calm down Number One, that ticket was never going to see the light of day."

"What do you mean, 'It was never going to see the light of day'," she mocked, continuing, "and why are you calling me Number One?" looking even more confused.

"Because I'd already planned on ripping it up before the fiasco," I paused and then explained further, "I felt bad for giving you such a hard time. I was just in a bad mood over some other stupid stuff earlier this morning and I took it out on you. I'm really, _really_ sorry."

She stared me down while she mentally chewed over my words before finally saying, "You're forgiven. Now what's this 'Number One' nonsense?"

I couldn't help smiling as I admitted, "Well, I couldn't remember your name off the top of my head and when I tried to rouse you before the EMT's arrived, I called you Number One because yours was the first ticket I'd written today."

"Oh," she said softly. "Well, my name's Sookie. Sookie Stackhouse."

"Well Sookie Stackhouse, I'm Eric Northman, but feel free to call me whatever you want." I stifled the urge to throw in Officer McFuckMe, preferring that much more than Officer Asshole, and added, "But I think I'm gonna stick with calling you Number One. It seems to be my lucky number."

**SPOV**

I invited McFuckMe, I mean, Eric, to come by my house a few days later for lunch and to get started on his first physical therapy session. I still felt sore all over, but it wasn't too bad and I wouldn't be going back to work until the following week. I knew I could have reneged on our deal since saving his life certainly trumped ripping up my bogus ticket, but he'd looked so guilt ridden over my ordeal, I thought it would be a good way to show him that I really was fine.

_It didn't hurt that HE was fine, either._

Every day following 'the incident' I received a fresh bouquet of flowers from him and every day I would call to thank him. We'd ended up talking for hours on the phone and I was really starting to like him. He was funny and sweet, so unlike the man who'd pulled me over and criticized my taste in music, but I couldn't hold that against him; there was a reason why that song was in my guilty pleasures playlist.

He showed up at exactly eleven o'clock in the morning and I opened the door, saying, "Hey there. Did you have any problems finding the house?" The old farmhouse I'd inherited from Gran sat back from the road and it wasn't visible through the trees, so if you didn't know it was there, it was easy to miss the driveway.

He stared at the bruises discoloring my face for a moment before shaking it off and answering, "No, no problems." He walked in with his eyes taking in everything around him, asking, "So, do you live all the way out here all alone?"

I really wished I could remember what a bad idea shrugging was, but answered him through the dull ache, saying, "Yes, but this house has been in my family for generations, so I'm used to it." When he faced me he clearly looked delighted by my answer, but I couldn't figure out why, so I asked. "Why?"

"No reason," he smiled. He really had a great smile and I felt even dumpier knowing I had a black eye and tiny red cuts all over my face, but I still couldn't look away from him. After a long moment, he asked, "So, is there a boyfriend? Doesn't _he_ worry about you living way back in the woods all by yourself?"

_Is he…fishing? For information about me? My love life? MY love life?_

_No…._

_Maybe?_

He'd alluded to the fact that he was single more than once during our previous conversations, but I'd never reciprocated. I hadn't been sure if he'd been digging then, but now I had to wonder. I felt like I had the upper hand and wasn't quite ready to relinquish it just yet, only answering, "Nope," and left it hanging there between us, waiting to see what he would do with it.

_Judging by the look on his face, he wanted to shoot it right between its eyes._

It was killing him, but I already saved his life once this week. He'd just have to figure a way out of this one himself and I tried not to smile while watching him fight within himself over asking or just dropping the subject altogether when he finally blurted out, "'Nope', what?"

"Hmm?" I answered coyly, trying to keep my lips from turning upwards to hide my amusement.

I wasn't prepared when he took a step closer to me making me all kinds of discombobulated. He was so tall; his shoulders were so broad; his chest looked like it was made just for my hands and I remembered all too well his sexy back and ass.

_And my bedroom was just down the hall…_

I was starting to think that having him there might be a very bad idea and wished I'd been taking something stronger than Tylenol, so I could blame any subsequent hussiness on my part on the drugs. His eyes were smoldering down at me, very much different from the first time they'd glared at me, and he leaned down to whisper in my ear, "Does my Number One have a boyfriend?"

My breath caught in my throat and while my inner Independent Sookie wanted to stand up and shake her fist at him over being called 'his' anything, I was just lucky my actual knees hadn't given out yet. I didn't realize I hadn't answered him until he got even closer and my ear filled with the moisture of his warm breath as he asked, "Well?"

"No," I whispered against his neck.

_It had a couple of days' worth of scruff and smelled reeeeaaally good._

A chill ran down my spine when I felt his tongue dart out to taste the spot just below my ear before he moved to where his lips hovered just above mine, asking, "May I kiss you?"

**EPOV**

I hadn't planned on any of this. My plan had been to get to know her slowly, become friends first and hopefully something more in the future. Of course I'd found her to be sexy as hell and after getting to know her better during our marathon phone conversations, I liked her even more, but I respected her too much to want to push her into anything she wasn't ready for. She didn't strike me as the one night stand kind of gal and I wasn't looking for that from her either. I wanted something more; something real. I didn't know if she'd end up being 'the one', but I was at a point in my life where I was finally ready to settle down. After everything that had happened in the last few days, I didn't want to put things off waiting for 'someday' knowing sometimes you ran out of days before 'someday' ever rolled around.

_Those had been my intentions…_

But as soon as I walked in the door, I was overcome by everything about her. I hated seeing the bruises on her face knowing I was the cause, but loved the bruises on her face knowing she'd done that to save _me_. There weren't many people out there who would willingly put themselves at risk to save a complete stranger and the fact that Sookie had done just that still floored me, but it also told me a lot about her. So many women her age, and especially with her great looks, were so self involved. They assumed and acted as though the world orbited around them, but Sookie was nothing like that. If anything, she seemed self-deprecating and it only made her more beautiful, but now that I was so close to her, all I could think about was getting even closer. With the way I was feeling, I didn't know what I wanted more; for her to push me away or for her to push me into her bed. I was afraid of moving too fast and possibly wrecking anything we might have the potential of becoming, while being afraid I would die if I didn't at least get to kiss her.

"Yes."

Such a small word and yet it brought such a strong wave of euphoria over me that I felt light headed for a second, but I didn't let that stop me from gently placing my lip to hers. I restrained myself from really letting go, not knowing know what she wanted and let her take the lead, so when her tongue gently pushed against my lower lip, I let her in.

_It was but the first snowflake in what quickly became an avalanche._

Her fingers wove into my hair and I wrapped my good arm around her, pulling her body flush against mine and ignoring the pain that shot through my shoulder; not caring about anything other than her and how she made me feel in that moment. She tasted of coffee with a hint of vanilla and my tongue dove deeper wanting to lap up every trace of it I could find. I kept waiting for her to pull away, already dreading what I thought was inevitable and savoring everything she offered me while I could, so I tried not to look disappointed when she finally broke our kiss. I couldn't hide my surprise, however, when her fingers left my hair only to land on my chest where they slowly opened each button of my button-down shirt. Her eyes stayed locked onto mine, almost hesitantly, as though she was waiting for me to stop her.

_She'd be waiting forever for that to happen._

Neither one of us had said a word until she had my shirt opened wide and she whispered, "Lean down."

I did as she asked and was rewarded by her hands sliding around my neck, gently lifting the sling over my head that held my arm in place, and removing it altogether. My shirt soon followed and she led me to the couch where she sat me down in the middle before straddling my lap. While my left arm still had some numbness, a lot of the feeling had come back over the days following the shooting and Sookie took my hand into hers, holding it in between us, asking, "How does it feel?"

She was gently massaging my hand, but she was sitting on the one part of my body that had the most sensation at the moment and I may have even been speaking of that area when I answered, "Good."

_Really, really good._

My right hand had been resting on her hip and moved to her lower back, holding her tighter against me and I stifled my own desire to let it slide further down into the back of her pants, still unsure of where this pleasurable torture session was leading to.

"The sensations are coming back?" she asked softly and when I nodded, unable to actually speak thanks to her shifting over my now painful erection, she surprised me again by pulling her shirt over her head and holding my left hand over her lace covered breast, saying, "And what about your strength? Are you able to grip?"

_No…I was quickly losing my grip._

"Sookie?" I was dangerously close to losing what little control I still had and my voice came out as both a growl and a plea all rolled into one. My left hand answered her question by gripping the lace covered flesh she'd offered while the fingers of my right hand trailed heavily over her waistband; hovering; waiting like a colorblind man trying to figure out if the light was red or green. When her own hand slipped between us and started working to get my pants open and she arched her back, pressing even more of her body against me, my mind shouted with glee.

_Green light!_

A soft giggle left her lips as she asked, "Oh, it's Sookie now, huh?" while her hands never stopped working. She moved to the side and I lifted my hips, letting her pull my pants down my legs, and I kicked them free while she quickly removed the rest of her clothes, with her saying, "I thought I was Number One."

Seeing her standing there completely naked, I doubted I'd ever think of her as anything _but_ Number One from then on. My eyes saw past the bruising from where her seatbelt locked down at the moment of impact to the stunningly beautiful woman underneath it all and I pulled her back down on top of me, needing to feel her naked flesh against my own. She moaned into my mouth and I would've worried I'd hurt her if it wasn't for her hips grinding even harder against my cock, bathing it with her arousal, and I was seriously starting to worry that I'd end up embarrassing myself by coming before we ever really started.

We hadn't discussed birth control; hell, I'd only just learned for sure that she was single ten minutes earlier, so I was relieved when I heard the telltale sound of foil ripping when she magically produced a condom in her hand. "Well, you're certainly prepared," I said, with my eyes rolling into the back of my head as I struggled to think about anything other than the feeling of her hands rolling the condom onto me.

She lined her hips up with mine and placed me at her entrance, sighing, "Like a boy scout," as she slowly slid down my length.

"Fuck," I grunted. She was so warm and tight, when added to everything else I already knew and liked about her, had I known of her existence beforehand, she would've been Number One on my bucket list too.

"I'm working on it," she whispered while chewing her way across my earlobe. "Give a girl a chance to adjust."

It was a catch twenty-two because while I wanted to experience the ecstasy of my inevitable orgasmic bliss, I'd also be perfectly content to just stay inside of her forever, feeling my own pulse throbbing against hers. Since she was the only reason I still had a pulse to begin with, I was pretty certain that meant it was hers anyway.

When her hips started moving again, my hands slid to her breasts and she moaned and gasped with every touch of my fingers. Her rhythm sped up and my mouth latched onto her left breast while my right hand slid between us. I could feel her inner muscles fluttering around my cock and my eyes were starting to cross over the effort it took for me to hold off my own urges. I refused to cum before her and when my fingertips found her clit, they circled it at a furious pace. My mouth switched to her right breast and my left hand held onto her hip, helping her ride me as I thrust up into her. Both of her hands held onto the back of my head and her rhythm faltered as I felt her body tense up as she gasped loudly before crying, "ERIC!"

Her walls clamped down on me and I gripped her hips firmly with both hands knowing I could now let go and thrust into her twice more as I came with a roar of her name. We were both left panting and covered in a light sheen of sweat and my head flopped backwards onto the couch as I tried to catch my breath. She rested her body against mine with her head tucked against my right shoulder and when she felt the fingertips of my left hand lightly tracing over her skin, she laughed softly as she said, "Umm…I think it's safe to say that I believe you're on the road to recovery."

She squealed when I surprised her by flipping us over so that she was underneath me on the couch and immediately protested, "No no no no no…I think I'm going to need _numerous, intensive therapeutic_ _treatments _before I can be declared fit for duty."

My lips started kissing a path that began at her swollen lips, moving on to the hollow of her throat, with me already certain I could never get enough of her, and as my lips trailed lower down her body, her legs opened up wider as she giggled, "I'll agree to take your second opinion under advisement, but you'd better make a strong case."

_Two years later…_

"I'm home!" I called out as I walked in through the back door. I'd moved into the farmhouse with Sookie after we'd only been dating for three months when we both realized I hadn't been to my apartment in weeks. Everyone thought we were crazy and that we were moving too fast, but we didn't see it that way which was why I didn't hesitate to propose to her just one month later and while she immediately accepted, we waited a full year before actually tying the knot.

_We weren't THAT crazy._

"Sookie?" I called out again since she hadn't answered me. It was our one year anniversary and we had reservations for dinner in Shreveport, so I headed into our room to change and noticed the bathroom door was shut. After locking up my gun, I started stripping out of my uniform and knowing I should probably shower before getting dressed up, I knocked on the door, asking, "No-No? You in there?"

Her nickname of 'Number One' had morphed into just the initials 'N' and 'O', then becoming 'No-No', which made for confusing conversations at times, but I still liked it anyway.

"Mmhmm," she sniffled through the closed door.

"What's wrong?" I asked and turned the door handle to find her sitting on the edge of the tub crying softly.

Without looking up, she thrust her hand at me and I immediately recognized what she was holding. We'd been trying to get pregnant for close to six months, but it hadn't happened for us yet and it wasn't the first time I'd found her in tears after seeing only one line on the test stick. I pushed away my own disappointment and wrapped my arm around her, taking the stick from her hand and shushed, "It's okay. We'll keep…"

The words died in my throat when I flipped the stick over in my hand. Sookie had been holding it with the test windows facing down, but now that I'd flipped it over I could see _two_ lines. I couldn't take my eyes from it, afraid to believe what I was seeing and being wrong, so I hesitantly asked in a shaky voice, "No-No?"

Sookie's happy tear stricken face appeared in my line of sight a second later and she grabbed onto my face and with her lips pressed against mine, she confirmed, "Yes-Yes."

**So, there you have it. I have so many things started that I have no clue what I'll update next, but it'll be something. Thanks for reading!**


	21. Porn Star

**A/N: So, here's what happened. One day I got several texts from Missy Dee full of SkarsPorn because she's awesome like that and somehow or another we got to texting about Askars Pornstache pic which is in serious need of having a one shot written about it. I volunteered with her "Woot!" encouragement and started writing. I got 5K words in (with no lemons yet) and somehow it turned into a 'Sweet Porn Star' Eric, which wasn't what I was shooting for and I complained to Makesmyheadspin that I wanted to write a dirty 'Suck My Cock Like You Want It Porn Star' Eric (because I can say anything to her and she doesn't judge me for it; in fact, she joins in), so because she's so supportive of my creative pursuits, she fed my muse with pics of TB Season 3 Eric in the basement, post-Yvetta, where he's pacing in that red robe. And this is what happened thanks to that…**

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns them all, but she might not appreciate what I made them do and Pornstache!Eric **_**still**_** needs to be a one shot damn it.**

Porn Star

**EPOV**

As I paced like a caged animal, already hard as a rock under my black silk lounge pants, my open red silk robe swooshed at my sides with every turn I made and my pacing was made difficult thanks to the light stands and cameras surrounding the bed. I'd never been more anxious for a fuck in all my life and my steps were halted when I heard the sound of the door opening, with my head whipping towards it in time to see her walk through. A pink blush colored the skin I could see peeking out from her own silk robe and rose all the way up to her face, but the lust in her eyes was unmistakable when they met mine before they dropped to her feet.

"I…I'm…Sookie Stackhouse," she stammered, with her nerves getting the better of her. "I…I'm here for…" She paused for a moment and blew out a deep breath, admitting, "I'll be your co-star today."

_I was going to enjoy fucking those nerves right out of her._

"Hmm…" I slowly deliberated while stalking towards her. "Sookie, you say? That rhymes with _nookie_, so I guess it's fitting that we'll be filming an _adult_ movie today." Her body was trembling slightly, which only made me painfully harder, and I reached out to brush the hair away from her face, asking, "So…I understand that this will be your _first_ movie?"

She was the picture perfect representation of the girl next door and she sighed when I let my fingertips trail down her face and continued on towards her cleavage. I'd done enough _research_ to know that her perfect D cups were natural and I'd lost my train of thought when she softly answered, "Yes."

"There's no need to be nervous," I soothed. "Trust me when I say, once we get started, you won't notice the cameras."

She seemed to steel her resolve and her eyes met mine again as she said with a bit more confidence, "Okay." Her eyes took in my bare chest and when they came to rest on the outline of where my cock was poking out towards her through my pants, she licked her lips and said, "I think you might be right."

_Fuck, it was good to be me._

"Take off your robe," I commanded and then watched, completely enthralled by what was revealed in front of me. Her golden tan shimmered underneath the bright lights and her body was completely bare, so I could see that despite her nerves, her pussy was already glistening with her arousal.

_It was definitely good to be me._

Her body was tense and she jumped slightly when I made a move towards her, but I continued on passed her and turned on some music; _fuck music_ hoping it would help her relax, but I couldn't stop myself from coming to stand directly behind her and with my still silk covered dick sliding up her back, I placed my hands on her shoulders, kneading some of her tension away, and said, "Dance."

"What?" she whispered softly, while leaning into my hands, so I removed them from her shoulders, thereby removing her distraction, and repeated my order, saying, "Dance. With a body like that, I know you know how."

I teased my dick one last time by rubbing up against her spine before taking a step back and waited. It wasn't long before her hips were swaying to the bass of the song and I slowly walked around her not saying a word, afraid to break the spell she seemed to be under, to get a better view. Once I was in front of her again, I saw that her eyes were closed as the rest of her body started moving with the music and I was pleased when her hands started roaming over her body of their own accord. They both came up to caress her tits and when her fingertips started roughly pinching and pulling on her nipples, I had to stop myself from taking a step forward. I could tell she was really starting to warm up now and when one of her hands dropped to her torso and slid all the way down, with two of her fingers plunging right inside of her wet swollen lips, I knew she was ready. This time I didn't stop myself from taking a step forward and pulling her hand away from where I was dying to be and her eyes shot open to watch me suck her fingers into my mouth.

"With the way you taste, I'm going to enjoy making you cum on my tongue," I told her as I let her hand drop from mine. "Shall we get started?" There was a script we were supposed to follow, but seeing her standing there naked, I didn't think I could focus on my lines, as minimal as they were, and instead told her, "We'll film the dialog later." I let the robe slide from my shoulders and pulled my pants off, adding with a pointed stare from her eyes to my cock, "First, I think, we should get to the _meat_ of the film, don't you agree?"

Her eyes glazed over with her nodding her reply, so I directed, "Get on the bed." She didn't hesitate to comply and her nerves seemed to have disappeared as she positioned herself in the middle of the bed. I was pleased again watching her get on her hands and knees as she started crawling towards me where I was standing at the foot of the bed, so when she hesitated seemingly unsure, with her mouth just millimeters from my cock, I could barely control myself and growled, "Do you want to taste me, lover? Do you want to feel my cock pulsing between those perfect pink lips of yours?" I ran my tip across her lips leaving a trail of pre-cum behind and struggled to keep my wits about me watching her nod as her tongue darted out, licking the evidence away.

She was trembling again, but I knew it had nothing to do with nerves now, so I leaned down and ran a finger through her wet folds, adding, "Well, if you do a good job then I'll let you feel my cock pulsing through _these lips_ as well."

Her answering moan produced even more pre-cum on my part and her head shot forward with her tongue swiping it away before her lips wrapped around me entirely as she slowly worked her way down my shaft. My hands automatically went to the back of her head as I let my own head fall back in bliss and from the angle we were at, I knew it would look great on film. My cock was larger than most, so I allowed her the time to adjust before I started actively fucking her mouth, grunting out, "You like that don't you? You like sucking my cock?" I wasn't expecting an answer, but she moaned her agreement which nearly made me lose my load. _That_ would certainly make for the shortest porno in history, so I fought off my urges and continued fucking her face. My head fell forward and my eyes couldn't stop watching my dick sliding in and out of her mouth, but it was her eyes that nearly did me in again. They were staring back at me full of lust and I knew I couldn't take much more of either her looks or her mouth, so I said hoarsely, "It feels good between those lips of yours, but I want to taste your other ones now," and pulled her off.

She fell back onto the bed with me crawling up between her legs and I stared at her wet folds for only a second before I dove in for a taste. Even already knowing I would like what I found there, I was still amazed someone could taste so perfect and between my tongue and my fingers, I fucked her until she came three times. You'd think she would've been spent, but no sooner had I sat up than she climbed onto my lap and moaned, "Fuuck…" into my mouth as she lowered herself onto my cock. My hands gripped her hips with me repeating her previous sentiment out loud feeling how tight and wet she was. If I thought I'd had a hard time controlling my urges when she was sucking me off, that was nothing compared to how hard I would have to work now not to cum too soon.

With her hands on my shoulders and her feet planted on the mattress, she matched me thrust of thrust. Her back was arched forward and her head was tipped back, so when I was able to tear my eyes away from the sight of her pussy swallowing my cock, I used the opportunity to latch onto one of her breasts and her responding, "Fuck yes!" told me she liked it just as much as I did. The sounds of skin slapping against skin nearly drowned out everything else and when the thought came to me, I didn't hesitate in lifting her off of me and turning her around so that she was on her hands and knees in front of me. I impaled her again from behind to her screams of, "Fuck yes!" again and I chuckled out, "You're repeating yourself, lover."

Her head whipped around to stare back at me with her bottom lip caught between her teeth before it came free as she dropped to her elbows and moaned, "Your cock feels so good."

"Like that do you?" I grunted out and smacked her ass.

She moaned again, answering, "Yeah baby, I do." She wiggled her hips and pushed back up onto her hands, thrusting back against me, saying, "Fuck me harder."

I did as she asked and she spread her legs wider so that I sank even deeper inside of her and we both moaned again. Nothing had ever felt as perfect as fucking her did and I knew she'd probably have bruises on her hips the next day thanks to the grip I had on her, but I couldn't help it. I was too lost in the sensation; too lost in her and I forgot what we were there to do, saying, "Sookie baby, I need you to cum."

I didn't think I could hold back for much longer and her strangled cry of, "Then you fucking _make me_ cum," wasn't helping, but I slid one of my hands around to her front and teasingly rubbed her clit before pinching it and was rewarded with her pussy imitating a vice like grip on my cock as she screamed out with her orgasm. It threw me right off the cliff behind her with me shooting a seemingly never ending stream of cum inside of her.

We both fell down onto the bed and I'd somehow managed to turn at the last second so I wouldn't crush her underneath me, but I'd brought her body with me so I wouldn't have to leave her warmth just yet. When she finally got her breathing under control, she giggled out, "I think you fell out of character there."

I snickered and hugged her tighter, admitting, "I did, but I couldn't help it. What can I say, lover; your pussy is magical. It sucked me right in." She laughed along with me and turned to face me, so I waggled my eyebrows at her and asked, "Are you sure it was your first time? You seemed like you were a natural."

"It was definitely my first fuck film, but you know better than to think that was my first role play." She kissed me again before asking, "So, was I believable when I tried to look like I was nervous about fucking you?"

"Definitely," I answered, but before I could say any more about her Oscar worthy performance she grinned, saying, "Happy birthday," and kissed me. I was gearing up for our sequel when the sound of the phone ringing interrupted us and I growled, knowing I had to answer it, and pulled away to do so. I already had an idea of who would be calling, so I wasn't surprised and when I ended the call, I looked down at Sookie, saying, "The jury's back from deliberations. I need to go in."

Sookie giggled watching me pull on what she'd dubbed my 'court attire' which wasn't truly accurate, but seeing my purple briefs always reminded her of the day we became a 'we' and once I was dressed, I leaned back down to give her a kiss goodbye, saying, "Thank you for my birthday present lover. I'll see you when I get home."

She smiled back at me and as I was walking out of our bedroom door, she called out, "You're birthday isn't over until the clock strikes midnight, so don't think we're through yet!"

_SHE was why it was great to be me._

It was a couple of hours later when I was walking back into my chambers still smiling over the look of shock on that prick Compton's face when he lost his case. I don't know why he looked so surprised since he was a shit lawyer, but then I'd already known he was a fool because he'd let Sookie slip away from him. I, however, was no fool and was anxious to get home so we could film 'When Eric Fucked Sookie Part 2' when the sound of my chambers door opening made me turn around. I watched Sookie slip inside and my grin was immediate just seeing her, but it got even wider when she took off the full length trench coat she was wearing revealing the slutty Catholic schoolgirl outfit she had on underneath. She twisted her hands in front of her body and pouted out her lip as she strode towards me, saying, "Headmaster, Sister Pam sent me to your office because she said it was a sin that I like cock so much."

"Really…" I growled out watching her place both of her hands on my desk and jut her ass out behind her.

"Mmhmm," she nodded and then she flicked her hips so her short skirt flipped up, revealing she was wearing nothing underneath it, and winked at me as she added, "I'm ready for my punishment."

_It was so fucking great to be me._

**So, yeah…I couldn't **_**actually**_** make Sookie and Eric porn stars and it feel right, so this is as close as I could get. If you don't remember, this Eric and Sookie are from Chapter 18 – Legal Briefs, which made me cringe when I reread it seeing the lack of commas, but…whatever.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	22. Inflamed

**A/N: Apparently when I forget to take my allergy meds, coupled with the start of my PMS week, I write angry porn. I couldn't work the angry sex into any of my other ongoing stories, so I'm sticking it over here. Also, I missed All In's douche-y Eric, so his spirit is making a cameo down below.**

**DISCLAIMER: Charlaine Harris owns them all, but Eric is sticking it somewhere else.**

Inflamed

**SPOV**

_Scratch scratch scratch scratch…_

_Itch itch itch itch…._

_ARGH!_

I couldn't for the life of me figure out what in the hell was wrong with me, but for the past week I'd basically scratched my skin raw. Everything itched and I do mean _everything_. In between my fingers and toes; underneath my nail beds; even my hair felt itchy separately from my scalp and it had gotten to the point I was ready to duct tape socks over my hands just I wouldn't scar myself for life, but I didn't have the willpower to deny myself the relief only my fingernails, or possibly a cheese grater, could provide.

I'd never had so much as hay fever before and even though I hadn't bought any new products lately, I still went ahead and chucked my laundry detergent, bath soaps, lotions, shampoos, and basically anything else I could think of that might have caused my seemingly allergic reaction to fucking _air_. But nothing helped and it only seemed to be getting worse as I steadily worked towards my death by Benadryl overdose with me popping those things like they were Tic Tacs and I had a hellacious case of halitosis. I didn't have any health insurance, so a trip to the doctor was out and as a waitress I can say my tips had been suffering because nobody wants a server touching their plates and silverware when they looked like Biff-Blob from the movie Weird Science.

Everywhere I scratched, angry red welts would rise up on my skin, but the only thing that made them feel better was to scratch them again even harder than before. I even scratched myself raw in my sleep. Cold compresses worked for a little bit, but unless I could find a head to toe ice pack I could walk around in, they weren't the best option. The slightest bit of pressure against my skin from my waistband or bra would leave a red welt outline in their wake, so in a last ditch effort to regain my sanity I went to the local pharmacy with my purse full of my meager earnings, resigned to spend every last penny I had on whatever miracle cure I could find.

_Who needed money to eat when my hands were too busy gouging my flesh to hold a fork anyways?_

In a town as small as Bon Temps, I knew the local pharmacy had been sold by the previous owner a month earlier to a new younger pharmacist just starting out, but I had yet to meet him and could care less unless he knew the miracle cure to my ails. When I marched through the front door my intention was to walk straight back and, in my desperation, bare my hideous looking skin like it was Fat Tuesday and he held the stash of the best beads in town. That is, until I saw him.

_Mother fucker mother fucker mother fucker mother fucker…_

I was expecting some nerdy bookworm; glasses; prematurely balding; pocket protector and stack of superhero comic books off to the side, but standing behind the elevated counter at the back of the store was, simply put, a living breathing Michelangelo, while in my pair of flip flops stood a special effects reject from a B-rated horror film. I may have been willing to try and use a potato peeler to slice away the itchiness, but I wasn't willing to bare my nastiness to Mr. Perfection standing underneath the harsh fluorescent bulbs making him look like he had a fucking halo above his glorious blond head.

_No. Fucking. Way. _

When I saw that head lift up, no doubt looking around to see who caused the fucking bell that was hanging on the front door to ring, perhaps because thanks to my entrance he now had his fucking wings, I ducked down like any worthy robber and skulked over to where the assorted skin creams were with a basket in my hand.

Benadryl cream; Hydrocortisone ointment; Aveeno lotion; I grabbed them all. Lamisil for jock itch; Tinactin for athlete's foot; Vagisil for minor feminine irritation; I wasn't choosy and loaded up. I didn't care so long as it had the power to make the itching go away.

Eczema? Poison Ivy? Itchy anus due to hemmoroids?

I didn't think so; probably not; and please dear God, if so, what did it say about me that my entire body itched. Did that make me one giant asshole? At this point, I'd tattoo Preparation H on my forehead if I thought it would help and I grabbed a box of Tucks medicated wipes thinking they could potentially become my new favorite makeup remover. As soon as I cleared the shelves of everything I thought might possibly do away with my own personal purgatory, I skulked back towards the front with my basket of hope only to stand there for several minutes with no cashier in sight. I let my hand hover for several minutes more over the little metal bell where the 'Ring for assistance' sign was on the counter knowing it could draw Clarence's attention in the back, but eying the nice sharp edge of the countertop and already envisioning myself rubbing up against it like a cat in heat, I bit the bullet and tapped the bell.

_Just call me fucking Zuzu._

I knew it was pretty bad when I spent the majority of the time these days, when I wasn't scratching myself to death, eying every surface as a potential scratching post, so I was too busy gauging the _ahh-factor_ of the metal rod with a dozen Chapsticks attached to it knowing it could reach that one elusive spot my hands couldn't get to on my back, when Gabriel himself came walking up to the counter with his white lab coat wings flapping behind him.

_Mother fucker mother fucker mother fucker mother fucker…_

"Excuse me, Miss? I'm the only one here at the moment, so I'll have to ring up your purchases in the back," he said with his sinfully angelic voice. Various body parts of mine were crying out _Hallelujah_ while my mind was screaming _Nnnooooo!_

Thankfully I couldn't bear wearing my hair in my usual ponytail anymore because the pressure of it was too much for my scalp to handle, so I nodded sharply, making my hair fall forward to cover my face, and pressed my chin against my chest as I silently followed Mr. Angel On Earth to the back. My thoughts were centered on just how crazy I would appear if I pushed all of my hair forward and attempted to converse with him like I was Cousin It's sister, but when he put his hand on my basket to take it from me it finally occurred to me what that basket contained, so I did what any normal crazy person would do.

_I tried to yank it back like we were playing tug of war over the mouth of an active volcano._

But it was too late and I froze stock still like Medusa herself had just met my gaze as it slipped through my fingers, with my body contorted forward like I was giving step by step 80's hip hop dance instructions.

_Care to Cabbage Patch, kind sir?_

If only I was showing him how to do The Running Man, I could maybe get my feet to work and bolt out of the store, but it seemed I'd lost all motor function with the exception of my heart that was doing its damndest to beat its way out of my chest.

_But my itching seemed to have temporarily gone away too, so maybe he was heaven sent._

I felt a different kind of burning start up down below now that I got a better look at the man I was about to be mortified in front of, but that too changed quickly as he pulled the first item out of the basket.

_It was my new makeup remover._

Through my hair I could see his eyes furtively dart to me, but he remained professional and didn't say anything as I salivated over his big hands with long fingers, already fantasizing the scratchy goodness that could be had from them, while he quickly scanned the box and moved onto the next item. His face held a few days' worth of stubble and my eyes closed as I imagined how they'd feel scraping across my skin, my inner thighs in particular, making a shiver work its way down my spine. My little daydream of Sir Scruff-A-Lot didn't last long though because the more he worked his way through the basket, the more my mind's voice yelled, '_Please Lord, let him be a blind savant_,'seeing what else he'd pulled out.

_Did I really grab flea powder and ear mite spray?_

I didn't even own a dog, shitty boyfriend or otherwise, and I'd never been more uncomfortable in my entire life, for a whole slew of reasons now, so when he thankfully had all of my booty bagged I thought I was free and clear.

Until his laughter filled blue eyes pierced my own, asking, "Uh…was there anything _else_ you need today? Shampoo for lice, perhaps?"

**EPOV**

I'd never been more bored out of my mind until I made the mistake of stepping foot into Bumfuck Central, Bon Temps Louisiana. Granted, I'd only been there for a month and had a monopoly going for me as the only pharmacy in town, but the only people who'd come into the place so far had been the elderly needing their heart and blood pressure medications or the moms with multiple screaming kids clinging to their legs needing a refill for their birth control.

_Here you go. Now, please don't forget to take it!_

That is until I heard the bell ring at the front of the store and saw the full head of long blond hair walk through the door and like a horny bastard, I watched her in the mirrors strategically placed around the store to catch the other little horny bastards of the town who were too embarrassed to buy a box of rubbers and would try to steal them instead. I was thankful that my lone cashier, Mrs. Beck, had called in sick for the day because now the little Bon Temps Barbie would have to come to me to pay for her things, so I ran my fingers through my own blond hair and lamented over the fact I hadn't shaved in a couple of days.

_While trying not to think about how long it had been since I'd last fucked._

I tried to at least look busy in case she looked up, but she seemed too busy herself loading up on one of everything in aisle five. I hadn't been there for long, but I knew that was where the allergy medicine was, among other things, thanks to the sign hanging from the ceiling and just waited patiently for her to finish so I could see her up close when I noticed her wandering to the front register. I didn't want to run up there or yell out that I was the only one in the store because it would give away the fact I'd been watching her, so when she finally rung the bell, I had my chance.

_Those mirrors hadn't done her justice._

I could tell that she wasn't wearing a bra underneath her flimsy tank top and her ass was showcased to perfection in the tiny pair of yoga shorts she was wearing. The red lines on her arms and legs made it look like she'd fought a briar patch and lost, but no matter.

_I was sure my tongue would make them feel all better._

_I would definitely feel better._

I was dying to see her face, but she hid it behind her hair and only acknowledged my words with a nod, so I didn't even know what she sounded like yet and hoped she didn't have one of those weird cartoon voices because after seeing her up close, I imagined that was the only thing that could turn me off about her.

_Until I grabbed her basket._

If I went by the contents, she had everything from jock itch to hemmoroids to fleas.

_But…fuck! She's hot!_

I was wondering if I could still manage to get off if I fucked her while wearing a biohazard suit when I made the mistake of not keeping my mouth in check and all but insinuated she had head lice.

_Because I was a fuckwad on the inside and the pharmacy didn't carry brain to mouth filters._

I almost wondered if she'd lost some sort of bet or I was actually being Punk'd because no one person could have all of those ailments at the same time, but at least I'd gotten her to say something when she yelled back, "Hey! Didn't you have to take some sort of Hippocratic Oath on thou shall not make fun of the lepers? Or at least a Hypochondriactic Oath? Just tell me how much I owe you Clarence and keep your not so witty banter for George Bailey."

_The fuck?_

Unable to get my mouth working just yet, I only pointed at the register's display facing her while trying to come up with a way to apologize without sticking my foot further into my mouth.

_I had really big feet._

I'd vaguely noticed she'd been scratching her arms while I'd been ringing up her things, but it wasn't until she went to hand over her cash that I saw each of her scratches had turned into welts. Without thinking, I grabbed her outstretched hand, instead of the cash inside of it, and ran my fingers across the raised marks, asking, "Is all of that for this?"

I'd read some on Dermatographic Urticaria, more commonly known as the skin writing disease, but I'd never come across anyone who'd been afflicted with it. At least I knew what she had wasn't contagious and a biohazard suit would be unnecessary, but my mouth had done more damage to her pride than I'd guessed because she quickly snatched her arm back, saying, "Wow. Not only do you spew random shit about people's purchases, but you grope too? That's one hell of a customer service plan you've got going for you. Do you just mouth the words, without actually using your voice, to people coming in here in need of new hearing aid batteries too?"

Not only was her skin on fire, all of her was on fire and I couldn't help the barking laughter that escaped my throat from leaving, but my inner fuckwad came out with it, saying, "Trust me. If I'd groped you, you'd know."

A different kind of fire shot through her veins and straight out of her eyes. Thank God I was a professional and could recognize those kinds of things because no matter what her mouth was saying, she couldn't hide the fact she at the very least found me attractive, no matter what _my mouth_ was saying.

_At least I found one thing we had in common. And I wanted to fuck her. Badly, so hopefully we had that in common as well._

Luckily for me the counter was hiding the evidence of my desires, but before she could light off on me again, I said, "You should probably see a doctor." Gesturing to her bag of assorted stuff, I added, "None of that is going to do anything more than put a dent in your wallet."

I could tell by the sneer on her face that I'd managed to piss her off again, only making me think she'd be one hell of a lay, so like an asshole, I egged her one with, "Unless of course, you also have jock itch, athlete's foot, vaginal itching, hemmoroids, fleas, and ear mites."

Her already reddened skin inflamed even more when she peered at my embroidered name on my lab coat, saying, "Well _Mr. Northman_, not everyone is a big time pharmacist who can afford to not only be _insensitive assholes_ but _health insurance_ to boot. I can't afford to go see a doctor, but luckily for me being a bitch is free. Just take my fucking money and give me my bag so I can go!"

_I bet she liked it a little rough in the sack._

My hands were already tingling over the thought of smacking her perfect ass, now knowing my handprint would be more than visible on her skin, and scratching _Property of Eric Northman _across her body, so instead of just doing as she'd asked, I pushed her even farther, saying, "You must be in need of an eye exam as well. You mistook the 'D' on my coat for an 'M'. That's _Doctor Northman_," and pointed at it to further rile her.

_It was the most fun I'd had in weeks. And I was very willing to play doctor with her._

"For the love of Christ," she snarled, "Give me that bag or else I'm gonna come back there and suffocate you with it."

I didn't know what in the hell was wrong with me, but pissing her off was my new favorite thing, so I threw the bag underneath the counter and voided out the sale. As a peace offering, (after all, I did want to eventually fuck her) I reached over and grabbed a bottle of Zyrtec 24 hour over the counter allergy medication and rang that up instead, saying, "Take these twice a day until your symptoms minimize and then you can probably go down to taking it once a day."

My words seemed to bring her up short because she eyed me suspiciously and gestured to her skin, asking, "You know what in the hell this is?"

I nodded, answering, "It's commonly referred to as the skin writing disease. There's no known cause or cure. It may go away on its own or you may have it for the rest of your life, but this should help."

"But I've already been ODing on Benadryl for a week!" she argued back.

"Different active ingredient," I shrugged. "The Zyrtec will help. You should be feeling better within a day or two."

_My dick inside you will help as well and the effects are felt immediately._

She glanced at the register seeing the new total of twenty dollars and change versus the seventy and change it had been, so as she handed over the money she mumbled out, "Thanks," at the same time.

If I hadn't already figured out she would've refused, I would've given it to her for free, but because I was still a fuckwad, I grabbed a hold of her hand once more and took a closed pen using the pointed tip of it to scratch my phone number onto the inside of her forearm before handing over her bag and saying, "For when you want to thank me _properly_."

_Preferably naked._

**SPOV**

_The fucking nerve of him!_

First he had the nerve to go traipsing around the planet looking like scratchy goodness sex on a stick and then he had to be a giant asshole on top of it. If it turned out he was gay he'd be the textbook trifecta defining why there were still so many single women around.

_Just. Not. Fair._

But like any old sucker being duped by a snake oil salesman, I was barely out of the door before I ripped that bottle open and took my first little white (hopefully) miracle pill. Of course there wasn't an immediate relief with a chorus of angels singing in the background (because they were too busy being assholes behind their elevated counters in the backs of pharmacies), so I cursed his angelic ass all the way back home, but secretly hoped the medicine would kick in eventually.

As I got ready to go in for my evening shift, I noticed his phone number still emblazoned on my arm and couldn't decide if I was flattered or pissed. He was good looking. Better than good looking, he was GQ model hot, but his attitude was in need of a serious adjustment, one that perhaps could only be adjusted by running him over with my Malibu.

_Still…he was hot._

It had been quite some time since Sookie South had seen any action, but considering how angry he was able to make me in a matter of seconds, there was a high probability that I would choke him out during sex. But now that I was thinking about him like that, I knew that little white pill would do nothing to help alleviate the kind of itch those thoughts brought with it.

_It would need a professional's help._

_God…I was such a slut._

It wasn't really true since I didn't think having three previous sexual partners at the age of twenty-five made me anywhere close to a Dawn Green, but being around Asshole Angel made my morals take a serious hit.

_Maybe I could just hit it and quit it?_

_Maybe I could stop thinking like I was some not-so-badass gangsta?_

No, I decided. There would be no fuck and run to be had with _Doctor_ AA because I just couldn't afford to go to prison knowing I'd likely kill him as soon as he opened his mouth.

_But…then at least I would get free health care there._

Using my fingernails, I scratched out the numbers he'd left on my skin until I could no longer make them out and headed into Merlotte's. It was a few hours later and well into the tail end of the dinner rush when I wandered over to one of my tables, barely having noticed it had been occupied moments earlier, saying, "Welcome to Merlotte's. My name is Sookie and I'll be your server this evening. Can I start you off with a drink?"

Because my mind had been wrapped up in my earlier trip to the pharmacy, my eyes had been trained on my forearm where the only evidence of Dr. AA's phone number that remained was a light red hue, so I didn't notice who was sitting at the table as I spewed out the words I'd said a million times before until I heard, "Sookie, huh?"

_Fucking angels with their fucking sexy voices._

I looked up to see Dr. Fuck Hot smiling back at me, but I tempered the dual urges I had to punch him square in the mouth and then fuck him right there in the booth in front of everyone. Seeing his perfectly white straight teeth I couldn't help imagining how good they'd feel scraping across my skin.

_Then he went and ruined it by talking._

"Were you staring at your arm because the Zyrtec kicked in and now you can't make out my number? I'd be more than happy to _give it to you_. Again."

_Would it still be Judgment Day if I was the one to blow on Gabriel's horn?_

"Drink?" I barely gritted out between my teeth, not so much from anger, but more so I wouldn't inadvertently try and wrap my lips around his trumpet.

"Are you feeling better yet?" he asked.

"Do you have ADD?" I asked, irritated. I seriously needed to get away from him because now that he wasn't covered up in his sterile lab coat, I could see the heavenly perfection of his broad chest thanks to the tight black t-shirt he had on.

_And I still had that other itch in desperate need of some professional attention._

"Actually," he smiled wryly. "I believe I've recently come down with OSD. Obsessive Sookie Disorder. The only cure for that, I'm afraid, is _taking one_."

_The fucking nerve of him!_

"Orally? Or would that require a _transdermal_ delivery?" I heard my mouth ask him.

_The fucking nerve of my mouth!_

His blue eyes smoldered back at me with his voice dropping to panty-vanishing levels, answering, "I've got a _very bad_ case of it, so I would want to try _all methods_ of delivery."

_Lucky for him there was a fresh batch of cream in my panties made special just for him._

My brain fought my libido tooth and nail until I finally stuttered out, "I'm not having sex with you."

He may have even taken my eye roll to be from exasperation, but really it was from just the thought of how good it would be when he surprised me by saying, "I don't want to have sex with you."

_Goddamn trifecta!_

"I want to fuck you."

"Sookie?"

Every part of me was throbbing and my vision was all swirly when I heard it again.

"Sookie?"

Hearing Sam's voice was like having a bucket of ice water thrown on me and I looked around to see I was standing just inside of the storeroom.

"You alright Cher? You've been standing there for a few minutes looking kinda out of it," he looked worriedly back at me.

"Sorry," I said, and ducking back out into the hallway. "Must be…the a…medicine I'm taking. You know, for the itch thing."

It was pretty sad when I was starting to daydream about getting that other itch scratched, but talking out loud about my curse made me realize that the rest of me was nowhere near as itchy as before.

_Maybe Asshole Angels knew a thing or two…_

**EPOV**

I couldn't believe I was _that_ much of a fuckwad to not have even asked her what her name was before she walked out of the store. Over the following days I became obsessed with her, although I might have blamed that on my dick, but the rest of me was sucked in too and I found myself staying in the store from opening until closing every day just hoping she might come back in, while knowing I'd been enough of an ass that she'd probably never darken my doorway again. She hadn't called me either and in my desperation I'd made the mistake of asking a few of my regular customers if they knew who the welt-y sexy blond was, but it bit me in the ass when all they saw was a single semi-successful pharmacist and tried to push their single granddaughters at me like they were having a fire sale and everything must go go go!

I didn't have the slightest clue on where to even start looking for her and had all but given up hope when my pulse quickened hearing the bell on the door ring right as I was getting ready to close the store for the night. Mrs. Beck had already left earlier and she was no help anyway when I'd tried to describe the blond covered in scratches who possibly had a dog with fleas and ear mites, so I tried to not get my hopes up when my head came up as my eyes went straight to the mirrors.

_But there she was._

I couldn't take my eyes off of her until she finally turned down the main aisle where I could actually see her in person as she made her way back towards the counter and while I noticed she was carrying something (perhaps my balls on a silver platter since she'd seemed to take them with her that day) I couldn't stop staring at her. She was wearing a cute little red sundress that barely hit her mid thigh and didn't have any other red marks on her, but I could tell she was nervous by the way she was chewing on the corner of her lips, so when she finally stopped with nothing more than the Formica countertop in between us, she hesitantly said, "Here," and set down what she'd brought in with her.

_A homemade cherry pie? Was she trying to kill me?_

"So, umm…thanks, you know, for the other day. See?" she asked and held up her bare arm. "All gone."

My feet had decided to go on a stroll without telling my brain about it, so I only noticed I was standing in front of her when my hands and mouth formed a partnership in the mutiny going on. I stalked behind her and moved her hair to the side with my fingertips gliding across her back, watching the goose bumps rise up that formed in their wake, and said, "If you're offering me your pie, that isn't the one that I want."

_What the fuck was wrong with me? I wanted to poke her with my dick, not my words._

I cringed hearing her gasp and figured she was about to let loose on me again, but instead she turned around to face me with a challenging look in her eyes, asking, "Are you always this _smooth_ with the ladies?"

"Actually," I purred and took another step forward so there was no way she could miss what was going on in my pants, especially now when it was pressed into her stomach. "One lady in particular makes me quite _rigid_."

Not only could I not believe what was falling out of my mouth, I couldn't believe she wasn't backing down or even taking a step backward, not that I wanted her to, but when the little vixen before me licked her lips and asked with a defiant look in her eyes, "Don't you mean _livid_?" I couldn't take any more.

_I was so livid I took her lips hostage and demanded they give me my sanity back. _

"You sure are an arrogant son of a bitch," she mumbled into my mouth as she wrapped her arms around my neck and showed me what I'd been missing out on ever since she'd walked out a week earlier.

My arms snaked around her waist and lifted her up with me setting her down on the countertop.

_Right on top of the cherry pie._

"Arrogant _and_ clumsy!" she gasped out laughing as she tried to lift herself up off of the now squished aluminum pie tin.

_But all that did was show me she was wearing a tiny red lace thong._

_Red red red…_

Red sundress. Red thong. Red cherry pie filling oozing up her inner thighs.

_Red was my favorite color._

She had just gotten the pie tin pulled off of her ass when my hands took their spot as I brought my face down and started licking the sticky sweetness from her skin. She gasped again, but there was no laughter and I felt her trying to put something other than her thigh in the path of my tongue, even as she said, "_Assumptive_ and arrogant. I should've brought you your own scarlet letter A instead. Who said you're allowed down there?"

"The chatty bitch that just messed up my counter and put her cherry flavored pussy in my face. Now shut the fuck up and hold still," I growled, nipping at her skin.

Her head fell back as my tongue made its first swipe against the lace covering my dick's new home as she muttered, "Prick."

I pulled the lace to the side with my fingers and let my tongue quickly dart in and out before saying, "Not yet Lover, that's _much _bigger."

"Lover? Presumptuous much? My name is Sookie."

_The fuck?_

"It's not a presumption. It's a fact that hasn't come to fruition yet but will if you'd shut the fuck up already. And Sookie is a stupid name. I'll just call you Lover instead, but you can always change it when your last name becomes Northman. It comes with health insurance." When I realized everything that had just tumbled from my mouth, I didn't want to dissect or own up to any of it to her or myself, so I wrapped my lips and tongue around her clit while slipping two fingers inside of her hoping to fuck them right out of her memory. Ever since I first laid eyes on this girl I couldn't think straight and apparently it was my mouth's life mission to try and piss her off. The truth was, even though I didn't know anything about her other than she had a fucked up name and a unique allergy of sorts, I really did like her. I liked her bitchy attitude and mouthy retorts, so when coupled with her fuck hot looks it made her a contender to be a keeper.

_As long as my mouth didn't actually succeed in making her leave._

It seemed to have worked because I went back to teasing her with my tongue and when she grunted in frustration, I chuckled, "Problem lover?"

Grabbing a hold of my hair, she snarled, "Yes. You! Now it's time for _you_ to shut the fuck up and fuck me already."

My lips softly nibbled across everywhere but where she needed me and since I was a glutton for punishment, I said half-heartedly, "Well, I suppose I can give your suggestion on improving my customer service skills a try. Just last week _somebody_ insinuated I needed to work on it."

"I didn't _insinuate_ shit!" she panted out as my tongue made contact with her clit again. "But I'm seeing a marked improvement already, so don't fucking stop."

I couldn't really argue knowing my mouth had reparations to make, so I gave her everything I had and when her first orgasm of the night ripped through her body, I couldn't help smiling when she yelled out, "Fuck!" and answered, "Patience Lover. We're getting there."

Earlier that afternoon I'd caught a couple of horny bastards pocketing a box of Magnums and after congratulating them on their self-confidence, I had them hand it over and kicked their asses out. It was still sitting on the counter, so while my lover with the stupid name continued to come down from her orgasmic high, I walked around to the other side of the counter to grab them.

While the elevated countertop had been the perfect height to eat her out, it was too high from that side for me to fuck her properly, but she turned her body with my steps and grabbed the box before I could get to it making me wonder if my mouth would be having my body paying back the debt she was owed in the form of blue balls. I silently questioned her with an arched eyebrow when she answered with one of her own before she ripped the box open.

_I felt the tear all the way down in my balls and it was a good kind of burn._

**SPOV**

My hands went to work on ridding him of his clothes while he went to work on pulling off my dress when he discovered the bonus of me not wearing a bra. His hands went straight to them and I growled and gave up when I couldn't get his shirt off, thanks to their new perch, and tried not to get distracted by his bare chest, which was even better than the fantasy version, and went after his pants instead.

"It would be a crime for these to ever be covered up again. I have half a mind to follow you home and rid you of every bra you own," he said dreamily.

"At least we agree on you having half a mind," I snarked back, but lost my train of thought when I finally got his zipper down and his Caduceus fell out.

"Fuck me…" I whispered seeing the size of that thing.

_Not only would it scratch that elusive itch, I was betting it would reach all the way up into my throat._

"You're the one holding that up, Lover," he crooned.

_I was surprised he didn't need ten tons of yellow painted steel with Caterpillar stenciled on the side to hold that thing up._

Before I could say anything, he bent forward taking away whatever venom I may have shot back with by pressing his lips to mine.

_Sneaky bastard._

I couldn't believe I was about to have sex with a virtual stranger, but I'd gotten to know the fantasy version of him quite well over the last week. He was all I could think about anymore and it was driving me crazier than the itching had. As many times as I'd wanted to punch him in the mouth, now that I knew the other great things it was capable of, I'd have to temper my urges. Half of me wanted him while half of me hated him. All of me hated wanting him, but I hoped, if nothing else, I could fuck him out of my system and be done with it, so I didn't stop myself from pushing him away and praying to God the condom would actually fit over the behemoth pointing right at me. It did.

_Bless me Father for I'm about to sin._

He placed himself at my entrance and asked, "Are you sure you can handle me, Lover?"

Refusing to back down now, even though I was a little intimidated, I shot back with, "You talk a good game, but do you actually have the goods to back them up? Seems to me you're the one stalling now."

_He made me eat my words. Or at least my other lips did._

Thankfully he wasn't so much of an asshole that he didn't ease himself into me slowly and I gasped out with every inch that he sank deeper while wondering if he'd ever bottom out. I couldn't tell whose panted out, "Fucks," were whose and when my eyes crossed, I figured it was because the tip of his cock had hit my optical nerves and I'd forever be the poster girl for the term 'Fucked Blind', but he buried his face in my neck and gritted out, "Please tell me you're not a virgin."

"Even if I was, I think that ship would've sailed by now," I breathed out.

He took a deep breath and sighed out, "Good. I'd hate to think your first time was on a pharmacy countertop, but you're so fucking tight, I had to ask."

I supposed sweeter words had been said by sweeter men, but for him it was like a Hallmark card or a Nicholas Sparks novel and since my first time had been on the bench seat in JB DuRone's piece of shit pickup truck, this countertop was at least cleaner, cherry pie and all.

When he pulled back far enough for me to see him smiling down at me, I couldn't help smiling in return and gently cupped his cheek, saying, "That's sweet. Now fuck me."

_He took direction very well._

He fucked me up one side and down the other; literally. After pounding my second orgasm out of me he pulled out and flipped me over so I was bent over the counter with my ass jutted out towards him, but because of the differences in our height he angrily berated my vertically challenged stature and got me a step stool to stand on.

_Sweet or demented? It was a tough call._

It made no difference as soon as he slid back inside of me and I figured if this would ever turn into something more than a quasi-anonymous fuck encounter that would be the key.

_Just fuck. Don't talk._

Honestly, his angry words and nasty mouth got me off more than I would ever admit and made me wonder what kind of issues I was harboring within, but when he smacked my ass and I felt my walls clench down around him in response, I decided I didn't want to delve too deep into whatever they were because I liked it. With every slap of his hand, the sting of it would just be setting in when he'd roughly palm over the same spot soothing it away and at one point I felt his fingernails dragging across the top of my ass as he kept grunting out, "Mine," but I was too far gone to care and when I came for the third time, he came with me.

It took a while for us to actually move again and since the ass of my dress was one giant cherry stain, I stole his lab coat to wear home, but I couldn't figure out what to say to him before I left.

_Hey, thanks for fucking me?_

_Hey, are my eyes still crossed?_

_Hey, what's your first name?_

He didn't seem to have the answers either because instead of talking, he just walked me to my car and kissed me breathless, before shutting me inside of it and watching me drive away. It wasn't until I got home and went to plug in my cell phone that I saw he'd somehow managed to get a hold of it at some point because he'd sent a text to his phone that read, "Yours," and a second later I received his response to his own one-sided declaration of, "You are."

_The fucking nerve of him!_

The grin on my face was a far cry from the scowl I usually wore when thinking that about him and when I went into the bathroom to shower off the pie and sex remnants, I saw in the mirror what he'd actually been scratching onto my lower back.

_Property of Eric Northman_

"The fucking nerve of him!" I laughed loudly.

_For being right._

**Four years ago I started getting itchy for no apparent reason and it got so bad, I seriously contemplated the cheese grater. I was taking two Benadryl pills every two hours for days when I finally called for an appointment with an allergy specialist. They told me I had to go for two whole days without taking any pills, no creams, nothing. I whined and cried and possibly inferred they worshiped Satan and should just go right back to fucking hell because there was no way I would survive for Two. Whole. Days. Obviously I did, but barely people…barely. And the specialist's big scientific test that I'm sure he charged my health insurance company $300.00 for? He took a closed ballpoint pen and scraped it across my forearm. I snatched the pen from his hand and added to it so that I ended up with the word welts, 'HELP ME', written backwards like I was Linda Blair. The fucker snickered and gave me his professional medical opinion in the form of, "Huh…weird." I'm still bitter and I still have it, but as long as I fucking remember to take my pretty little white pill, I'm good. If not, at least I have a handy way of jotting down notes. **

**Thanks for reading!**


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